Before whom evil trembles
by Shandra23
Summary: The sand of Egypt hides many secrets. Some should never be brought back to the surface. Once again Ardeth has to defend the world form a force so old and powerfull that even the gods feared its wrath. This time though it's not only his life at risk, but his heart as well. Ardeth/OC eventually
1. Prologue one

Disclaimer:  I do not own "The Mummy". The background as well as the characters (beside my OC's) belong to Universal. I'm not making money with this, I just wright for fun. (And not so well that I could make money with it even if I tried...)

A/N: This is an experiment. I always wanted to wright a real adventure story, with clues and and unexpected story turns. I'm still hopeful to accomplish that (the story isn't finished yet so it might work).

I'm sure I'm not the only one who watched "The Mummy" and instantly fell in love with Ardeth Bay (as my friend likes to call him the _desert warrior_) So of course he is the central figure in this story. (There aren't enough fics about him)

This fic will be part adventure (hopefully the good kind), romance (well yeah I can't help myself) drama (as in finishing this story) crime (probably my gramma) and history (I'm always anxious to get the historical facts rights)

So please give Ardeth and me a chance and bear in mind that I'm no native (and without a beta) I would be happy to hear what you think^^

* * *

**Before Whom Evil Trembles**

**Prologue one:**

_Thebes 1348 BC_

The royal guard tried not to show the uneasiness he felt, while he listened to the Pharaoh's excited voice. The dark cloth that only left his eyes for everyone to see helped, but Sheshi was careful not to move a muscle, or let his eyes flicker to the man he vowed to protect with his life. Never before had he felt less proud about his position. The current king was not only insane but also very dangerous due to his believes and schemes.

Six years ago Amenhotep IV ascended the throne and many things had changed in that short period of time. And not for the best. Other as his father Amenhotep III who not only ruled Egypt with a strong hand and thoughtful mind but also honoured the great gods as it was his duty, his son abandoned all traditional believes.

No longer was he known as Amenhotep IV but demanded to be called Akhnaton, to honour his one and only god, Aton. While his father was strong enough to restrain the power gaining priests of Aton, Akhnaton was all too willing to let them use him for their ploys.

The number of his enemies had risen every year since his coronation and it would increase further if he proceed with his blasphemy. Even the simple people in the streets started to question his state of mind and with every temple and stature he destroyed to replace them with ones of Aton, he fuelled up a dangerous ire.

Other as the Pharaoh the priests were not blind, regarding the resentments of their people and feared them, rightfully so Sheshi thought. Most of them were without weapons but their number alone posed a great threat.

Atonepti, the highest ranking priest in Thebes, was doing his best to place the seed of fear inside the young Pharaoh's heart and quite successfully so from the sounds of it. But it wasn't his words which caused the uneasiness in Sheshi's chest, but the ones of his companion. The younger man hadn't been part of the royal court for long but his ambitions were well known among the guards, some of his brothers even feared that he would try to climb the throne himself. Sheshi didn't believe those rumours but he wasn't stupid enough to underestimate the man.

After all it was him who insinuated to use _the Dreadful _to crush all of Aton's enemiesto the Pharaoh and insane as he was, he started to take a shine to the idea.

The royal guard knew that he couldn't let that happen. His duty, like that of every other warrior in the palace, was towards the Pharaoh, but a long time ago the great queen Hatschepsut herself made the most allegiant of them swear an blood oath which overruled every other duty. And Sheshi had every intention to uphold that vow. He would have to talk to the others as soon as possible. Somehow they had to get their hands on the pendant and hid it well. Without it Akhnaton wouldn't dare to follow the idea. He might be insane but he wasn't suicidal.

Hopefully one of his brothers would come up with a plan, otherwise Egypt would have to worry about more than just a blasphemous king.

TBC


	2. Prologue two

Disclaimer: look chapter one

* * *

**Prologue two:**

_Cairo, April 1921 AD_

Aden Bay, chieftain of the first tribe of the Medjai, never thought that his life would end like this. He had lived the life of a warrior and wished to die like one, but obviously the fates had another end in mind.

He was nearly swooning from the pain the ugly wound in his chest caused and was barely able to keep conscious. But he had to hold on. Giving up now would not only mean his death but would also allow his persecutors to lay their filthy hands on the treasure he guarded.

Zahid, his second in command and he himself had responded to an urgent call from one of their men here in Cairo. Over the last few month a group of adventure seeking Europeans had asked a lot of annoying questions regarding the temple complex in Karnak. It wasn't the first time he had to deal with treasure hunters and noisy western people, so he didn't think much of it at first. Now he had to pay for his carelessness, he thought bitterly and pressed himself further into the wall of the little store. Grimacing in pain he slowly slid down the on stones, knowing that he was no longer able to hold himself upright.

It hadn't taken them long to find the Europeans in question, after they had been told the name of the hotel they stayed in. Unfortunately the five foreigners had not been the only ones who appeared in the picture. With an increasing uneasiness Zahid and he himself had watched the group mingle with two natives, that were no strangers to the Medjai. Both had once been called brother by him, but had been expelled for various reasons. These days they filled their pockets by showing tourists around and for the right amount of money they lead treasure hunters to forbidden places.

At first he hadn't been too worried. No chieftain would ever allow a renegade to live, if he possessed too much information. His tribe couldn't allow the wrong kind of people to discover their secrets. Some things weren't destined to be found and others were better forgotten and buried in the sand of time. So he was more than just a little shocked when he recognised the medallion around the neck of the tall white-haired man. How was it possible that this foreigner was in possession of something that old and dangerous? Something the Medjai thought lost to sand and time for hundreds of years. If the strangers had only a vague idea about the thread the medallion could unfold, and from the kinds of questions they kept asking Aden feared they did, they were all in grave danger.

Sadly there hadn't been time to inform the others and consult the elders. Aden knew they had to get the medallion back at any cost, so the two of them decided that the element of surprise was the best weapon they possessed at the moment. Unfortunately their precipitous act had come with a high price. Though Aden was able to overpower the old man and get the jewellery easily he was shot on his getaway. He had no idea what happened to Zahid but he feared for the worst.

Pushing his worry for his friend aside he'd used the chaos the shooting had caused to his advantage and rushed through gaping crowd and towards the daily market, which was always busy at this time of the day. But his followers had been persistent and Aden feared that it was only a matter of time before they would find him. Specially now that the first rush of adrenalin was gone and his body couldn't ignore the damage the bullet had caused him any longer. He was only a few crossways from the hotel and nowhere near a safe house.

Ripping down the cloth that hid most of his face, he pressed it firmly against the wound in his chest. A low agonized moan escaped his lips and he could feel the cold sweat running down his face as the pain shot through his body. Stars were dancing in front of his eyes and for a few moments Aden feared he lost his battle against the darkness, that lurked on the brink of his mind and tried to overpower him. Closing his eyes he tried to concentrate on his breathing and it seemed to do the trick, after a few moments. The problem was he couldn't stay here like this, he had to come up with a plan and quick.

Dyeing in a dirty street like a homeless mug wasn't an option, after all he had to fulfil a duty. Unfortunately it didn't look good, neither for his health nor for his responsibilities. Irritated his fingers clasped tightly around the medallion, which was the sole reason for his current state. If he was going to die for it, he had to make sure that it was never found by those who lusted after the power it held at least.

The museum wasn't that far away but every time he changed his position only lightly he was paralysed by the pain and he seriously doubted that his legs were strong enough to even carry him down the alley, much less the hole way to the museum.

As the minutes passed he could feel the life slowly draining out of him and for the first time in many years Aden felt the urge to cry, though he wasn't sure if it was due to the pain, the frustration or the sorrow that suddenly filled his heart. He couldn't die! Not here, not like this!

His tribe needed him, his family needed him. Ardeth, his son, was much too young to bear the responsibility that came with holding the title of the chieftain. Swallowing hard his thoughts drifted towards his wife, his beautiful sweet Samina, and the sudden knowledge that he would never see her again pained him more than any physical wound ever could. Now he was sorry that he hadn't found a way to spent more time with his family. His wife knew of the burden that weighed on his shoulders and had never been less than supporting and encouraging. She had always been his source of calm and peace, the one person he could just be himself with. The man, not the chieftain. But now he feared he hadn't told her often enough how much he loved her, that she was his life and light.

"_Are you not feeling well?" _The soft spoken question ripped him out of his thoughts and his eyes snapped open, while his hand automatically grasped for his scimitar. The sudden movement had him hissing in pain and it took him a moment before he was able to take in the person in front of him. What he found had him blinking in surprise, it wasn't at all what he'd expected.

The voice belonged to a young girl, who looked at him with a worried expression. From the colour of her only slightly tanned skin and her long auburn hair that fell in gentle waves down her back, it was clear that she wasn't of his people. What surprised him though was that she'd spoken to him in his native tongue. She was dressed like the local girls but the material of her robes was of a better quality and even adorned on the hemline. Standing there, with her exotic hair and expensive robes, she looked like a little princess to him.

"_You can speak my language?"_

That question seemed to amuse her, as she started giggling and Aden felt it hard to resist the charming laugh.

"_Of course, silly," _She told him airily and Aden grinned. It had been a long time since anybody dared to call him silly.

"_Of course," _he agreed. _"And what is a charming little lady like you doing in an abandoned street like this, all on her own?"_

For a brief second she hesitated before a determined look crossed her face and her fist actually clenched at her site. _"I'm hiding. My parents want to move back home, but I don't want to," _she huffed. "_I am home!" _She actually stomped her feet at that.

Rising an eyebrow he looked her over once again. _"You were born in Egypt?"_ It was a bit surreal to make small talk with this slip of a girl, while his wound was getting the better of him, but he found himself enthralled with her. _"What is your name?"_

Stepping nearer she eyed him carefully as if she just now realised that he was a complete stranger to her. For a moment her eyes focused on his chest, but the cloth was dark enough to cover the blood, or so he hoped. Finally she shrugged and smiled again. "_My name is Lilliana Sofia , after my grandmothers, but you can call me Lilly. Everybody does."_

Before he had a chance to introduce himself she continued. "_And I live here since I was little." _ Well from his point of view, she was still little but he had a feeling she wouldn't like to hear that.

"_And how old are you, Lilly?"_

"_I'm eight and a half," _she answered proudly and suddenly decided to step nearer. Near enough for him to catch a glimpse of an astonishing pair of green eyes. For a moment he felt uncomfortable with the intensity in it. But if she noticed that something was out of order she didn't comment on it.

"_And what is your name?"_

"_A pretty lady as you may call me Aden!"_

Obviously he still could charm a lady, even if she was only a child, as she blushed prettily. He would have chuckled, hadn't it hurt so badly. Swallowing the pain he tried to concentrate on the girl, maybe there was a way out for him, at least concerning his duty.

"_So, you have to leave soon?"_

Pouting prettily she nodded. _"Yes, Mama is homesick and now that the war is over and everything is settling down, Papa gave in to her wishes." _It wasn't hard to read between the lines, what she thought of those wishes. _"Mama doesn't like it here. She thinks it too hot and too dusty and she calls everyone a barbarian, but I think that is stupid!" _Lilly huffed and crossed her little arms in front of her and he nearly expected her to stomp her feet again. "_I like it here. All my friends are here and I can accompany Papa and watch him work. I don't want to go to stupid Germany, I want to stay!" _She whined clearly on the brink of tears.

"_Maybe you can come back one day," _he suggested hastily at the prospect of being confronted with a crying female.

"_You think so?" _A flicker of hope appeared in her eyes and held the water at bay.

Considering the desperate plan that had popped up in his mind, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to encourage a possible return, but it was plain obvious that she considered Egypt her home and he didn't want to crush her young heart, so he nodded.

Now she was beaming and Aden was stuck by her appearance. Her eyes were positively shining and her hair framed her like a halo. This one would break many hearts in the years to come, he was sure. Remembering her little display of temper earlier he hoped the man she ended up with possessed enough skill and patience to handle a spitfire like her. Even after only ten minutes with her he was sure that having her in your life would make it anything but dull.

Admonishing himself to focus on the important things the clenched his teeth together and tried to sit up a bit more. A bit surprised he noticed that the pain wasn't as prominent as before, but at the same time he noticed that he barely felt his legs any more.

"_Are you okay?"_

He hadn't noticed that he'd closed his eyes for a moment, but as he opened them again he was confronted with two worried green orbs directly in front of him.

"_Just a bit tired!__" _Little Lilly didn't look like she believed him but when he didn't add anything else to it she changed the topic.

"_What are those signs on your __face?" _Not shy of contact she brushed her finger over each mark with a curious look on her face. Obviously she had never seen something like that before, which didn't surprise him, considering her upbringing.

For a moment he hesitated, not sure if he could allow himself to talk to her a bit longer. He would have to send her on her way as soon as he gave her the medallion and a part of him dreaded that he had to do it. He enjoyed her company, however he was quickly running out of time and there was always the possibility that the foreign men would find him and didn't want to risk her safety.

Sighing he ignored his rational thoughts and smiled at her.

"_The one on my forehead is the mark of my clan. There are twelve different __tribes but mine is the first." _Not many people knew about the true meaning of their marks outside the tribe but it wasn't as if it was a great secret either. _"The others, the one on my cheeks mark me as a warrior of my tribe. Every young Medjai has to earn them. They are unique for every warrior and represent an attribute which sets him apart from everyone else."_

"_And what is the meaning of your marks?" _By now she was kneeing beside him, obviously fascinated with what he was telling her.

"_Strength and loyalty." _And if his wife would have had any say in that matter obstinacy would have found its mark as well. The thoughts of his family brought a new wave of sadness and loss over him and he knew it was time to come to an end.

"_I have something for you,"_ he announced and raised his hand which still held the jewellery. _"It would only be right to present you with a goodbye gift, if you have to leave my country, don't you think?" _ The numbness that had captured most of his body made it hard to move his fingers, but he was able to show her the medallion.

"_A present? For me?" _Her breath hitched and her eyes got huge with surprise but she was near enough to him to notice the sparkle of excitement.

"_Here,"_ willing his muscles to obey him he lifted his arm a bit higher so that he could cover her hand with his. Putting the gem into the palm of her little hand, he withdrew his own and was barely able to let it glide back into his lap. It felt as if it weight a million tonnes.

She was silent for so long that Aden feared he'd started to slip away, down into the darkness, that felt so much nearer than a few minutes ago. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment, but as soon as her soft voice filled the air again, they snapped open. Hu...apparently she wasn't an illusion.

"_It's so beautiful," _her voice was filled with awe and her fingers carefully traced the lines of the lid but she didn't open it. _"And you really want me to have it? Mamma says I shouldn't take things from strangers."_

Aden nearly snorted. He was pretty sure her mother also told her not to lurk in dark alleys and talk to strangers. _"Yes, saira. I want you to have it, so you have something that reminds you of the country you lov__e so much. And every time you ge__t homesick you simply need to hold it and you will feel better." _He mumbled, fighting to keep his eyes open. _"Do you think you can do that?"_

"_Yes," _she breathed, clearly relieved that it would be okay for her to take it. Eagerly she swept it over her neck, and grinned brightly at him. _"Thank you, I promise I will always wear it." _She told him before she unexpectedly launched herself at him in a hug, that nearly knocked the wind out of him. The pain that shot through him even broke through the all consuming numbness and had him groaning in pain. His moans didn't go unnoticed and Lilly immediately let go of him.

"_Did I hurt you Arden? I didn't mean to, I just wanted to thank you for your gift!" _She innocently told him and starred at him with wide eyes.

"_No saira, you didn't hurt me, but I think it is time for you to go home. Your parents will worry about your whereabouts and you should spend the rest of your time with your friends not some old man." _He tried to sooth her.

"_But you're my friend too, are you not?"_

Smiling he nodded. _"Yes I am, and as your friend I don't want your parents angry with you because you spent so much time alone on the streets."_

Once again her mouth formed into a pretty pout but his words seemed to do the trick and finally she nodded and stood up. _"And you are going to be okay Aden?"_

"_Yes," _the lie came easy about his lips.

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise," _this time he hesitated for a second. He didn't like to break a promise but he knew it was necessary.

"_Okay!" _She nodded carefully but hesitated for a second. And then, quick as the wind she leant forward and brushed a kiss on his checks, right where his mark was. Giggling and blushing at the same time she smiled at him. _"Goodbye Aden." _And with another airy laugh she was gone.

Her sudden absence hit him like a punch in the guts, it felt as if the last bit of light had suddenly been withdrawn from him and he was helpless to fight the dizziness any longer. His eyes fluttered shut and soon everlasting darkness consumed him.

Aden Bay, great chieftain of the twelve tribes, was dead.

TBC


	3. Chapter 1: A way back home

A/N: No Ardeth in this chapter, but he will be in the next one and nearly every other one after that.^^

**Chapter one: A way back home**

_Göttingen Germany, September 1933 AD:_

"What do you mean, you will go back?" Her mother was on a roll, Lilly knew it was pointless to say anything at this point so she simply leant back and let her.

"You really want to go back to that god forsaken country? Why in gods name would you want that? God knows how lucky I was when we finally left."

She used the word _god _three times in a row. That was never a good sign. On the other hand Lilliana hadn't expected anything less. The good thing was though, that she couldn't care less. As of today she was her own woman and no longer forced to endure her mothers every whim. But Anna Blackmoor had yet to find out about that.

"I told your father from the beginning that it was a bad idea to go there. I understood that we had to leave, but why Egypt? We could have gone everywhere. Maybe France or Italy but no it had to be that barbaric country."

"Last time I checked Italy and France both took part in the world war mother," Lilly snorted and not for the first time she asked herself, how her father could have fallen for a woman like her. She knew it wasn't very nice to think badly about the woman that birthed you, but she couldn't help herself. There weren't two people in the world, that had been more ill suited for each other. Her father had been a loving, kind and fairly intelligent as well as open minded man. His wife on the other hand was as narrow minded as one could get, self-serving and not the brightest bulb out there. Physical beauty was probably all she could claim for herself and likely what brought her into the place she was today.

Though her farther had never said it out loud Lilly suspected that her mother seduced him, because of his money and blackmailed him to marry her due to her being pregnant. She was an _early_ child and graced the lives of her parents seven month after their wedding.

"Don't get cheeky with me missy! Is that how you thank me for everything I've done for you?"

It lay on the tip of her tongue to ask her mother what she thought she had ever done for her, but stopped herself. After all it wasn't as if she expected an answer to her question. Instead Lilly leant back and let her mother go on with her rant. There wasn't much she hadn't head before. All in all it contained her failure as a daughter, how something just wasn't right with her and that other girls her age would be looking for a husband to start a family with and weren't seeking for adventures.

"I always told your father that it was a bad idea to sent you to those school, didn't I? All it did was putting strange ideas in your head!"

Everything beside settling down to raise a family and allow your husband to think and act for you was strange in the mind of her mother. In her opinion a girl didn't need education that exceeded basic school. Luckily her farther saw things different and not only encouraged her but taught her everything he knew himself.

Nathaniel Blackmoor had been professor on the local university teaching Egyptology and ancient languages. His assignment had been the reason why he moved from England to Germany and hadn't he met her mother he may have gone back after a period of time. But his marriage and the upcoming war had thwarted his plans and two years after her birth they'd moved to Egypt to escape the war, where he'd taken a job in one of the museums. Much like her father Lillian had come to love the country; the people, the weather and their history with all their outlasting architecture. The day they had to return to Germany had been a sad one for both her father and herself and she had sworn herself to go back one day.

Her hand wandered to the medallion around her neck on it's own volition. Not once in all the years since Aden had gifted her with the gem, had she taken it off other than to take a bath. She had taken everything he told her to heart and every time she felt sad, regardless of the reason, she rubbed it between her fingers. And every time she did so her heart truly felt lighter.

She'd gone through the ritual that many times that it actually broke in two. The oval medallion was made of gold and possessed an Anch symbol on the front lid. Originally the opal made cross was tightly fixed to the lid but her habit of grasping it all the time had loosened the fusion so much, that one day it broke. She had been devastated but wasn't willing to let anybody get their hands on it, so she simply brought a delicate gold chain and attached the Anch to it.

These days she barely opened the medallion any more, out of fear to damage it further. Not that she needed to do so to know what it looked like. She had stared at it more nights than she could count and had memorized it down to the finest detail. The inside showed the image of a lion. Well it was more a picture of a woman with lion like features. Most of her form was graved into the metal while small red stones, maybe rubies were portraying the eyes though. But it was the hair that truly stood out. The lion's mane was actually made out of real hair, at least that was what it looked like. It was red, like the rubies, with darker strains here and there.

All in all it looked a bit tawdrily, like something one would find at the stalls on the bazaar in Egypt, where merchants tried to foist worthless amulets, relicts and other trash upon ignorant tourists. But Lilly was fairly sure the stones and the gold were pure and the signs which were engraved in the inside looked ancient. She'd tried to look them up, her fathers library was full of books containing hieroglyphs of all cultures, but till this day she had found nothing on it and she wasn't entirely sure if they were simply too old to be known or if they were nothing more than meaningless twirls. Somehow she doubted it. Maybe she could find out more about it once she was back in Egypt. Not only about the medallion but about Aden's people too.

He'd called them Medjai, desert warriors. Information about them were nearly as rare as one about the medallion. But she hadn't been able to forget about the man who had gifted her with the gem, his face would often appear in her dreams and through the years guilt had found it's way into them too. As a child she had felt that something wasn't right, though she hadn't been able to put a finger on it and maybe hadn't been willing to dig deeper. These days she was fairly certain he'd been in pain, deeply so and it had been his condition that forced him to present her with the medallion. On the other hand it happened many years ago and she couldn't be certain if her mind was fabricating these things, but it was nagging at her and she knew she wouldn't been able to put it aside before she did something about it. Like seeking him out or at least his tribe.

"Lilliana Sophia Blackmoor!" The use of her full name snapped her out of her musings. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Of course." _Not, _she thought and inwardly rolled her eyes.

"So?"

"So what?"

"What about Leonard?"

"What about him?" She pressed knowing exactly what her mother was aiming at. Leonard Friedrich von Weißenburg was everything her mother ever dreamed about in a son in law. He was rich, good looking and came form the right family. An old family with a lot of connections which was probably why her mother was hell bent on forcing her on him.

"He's shown a promising interest in you, if you play your cards right..."

"Mother!" Lilly interrupted her angrily.

"Well someone has to point it out for you. Other girls would give anything to be the next Lady Weißenburg. What will he think when he hears that you ran of to some god forsaken country?"

He would probably shrug his shoulders and look for another challenge. Leonard was a player. The man had the look, the smile and the charm and he was used to women falling over their feet to get his attention. His family name and wealth only added to the attraction. The fact that she'd given him the cold shoulder was the only reason he kept pestering her. Clearly he wasn't used to a woman saying _no _and the challenge of changing her mind evidently was a way of fighting the boredom one felt when he had everything in life presented on a silver pattern.

Not that she really gave a damn about what Leonard Weißenburg would think. Truth to be told, since the death of her father two years ago there wasn't a single person which opinion matter for her, after all there wasn't anyone left who returned the favour. Her mother didn't care for her but for what she could do for herself and she had not much family beside her. All her grandparents beside her fathers mother died in the first world war and she had never come to know them, not even her grandmother, as she lived in England and died shortly after the war ended. Her mother was an only child and about her uncles from her fathers side she only knew that one went missing with the rest of his unit and the other was killed in a bombing. If she remembered correctly she once heard her father talking about the pregnant widow of his older brother, so she might have a cousin out there, but she could hardly call a person she'd never met family. More or less she was alone, but she intended to change that eventually, though it wasn't her prime concern at the moment.

For now she simply wished to enjoy her new found freedom and for that she'd decided to return to the spot where she'd been the happiest in her live; Egypt.

"...so no. No, I forbid you to go! You will banish these silly ideas of yous out of your head and start acting your age and...and social standing!"

For a long moment Lilly did nothing but stare at the woman in front of her. She was of average hight much like herself but held herself in a way that oozed self-importance. The years had been kind to Anna and her red-blond hair was still shiny and long, her skin barely showed her true age and her slender and well shaped figure still had the power to turn a few heads. The elegant clothes, careful manicure and well applied make-up only added to that.

Though Lilly was a bit more curvy around her hips and bust and her hair more of a dark auburn than an reddish blond, it was hard to miss that they shared the same gene-pole. The only thing she'd inherited from her father was the colour of her eyes, and it was also her favourite part of her. Sometimes when she stared long enough into a mirror, she could almost see her father looking back at her. Shaking her head, as if to scare away those thoughts she turned her attention back to her mother who was still glaring at her with displeasure.

"No mother I will not," she started calmly. "As of today you no longer have any say about what I do or don't do. Mr. Peterson soughed me out this morning and informed me of a part in fathers will that allows me full power of attorney about a rather large fund he attached for me." Money had never been an issue in her life but the sum, the lawyer had informed her about, nearly send her in a state of shock. That was of course before she realised that she was no longer tied to her mother but independent and wealthy of her own. She'd have left anyway, after her twenty first birthday but the money truly alleviated things. Mr. Peterson also informed her that her dear mother had no way of getting her hands on it and part of it was placed in funds and other investments so even she couldn't run through it on a whim. Not that she would.

"I don't need your approval to do anything but I truly wish you would at least try to understand that the things that you want for me are not the things I wish for in my life. And I'm not being silly, just because you never dared to live your dreams! I want and I will go to this god forsaken country as you call it, it has been my home since I was three. Coming back to Germany didn't change that. So you either accept my decision or not but in any case I will be gone next month!" And with that she got up and left the room, ignoring the fish expression her mother was regarding her with, as well as the shouts of her name that followed once she got over her shock.

There was a lot of packing to do and she had spent enough time arguing with her mother in the past now it was time to look what her future might bring along. It couldn't be worse than her mother on a bad day.

She would find out soon enough how wrong she was.

TBC

guest: Thanks for your review whoever you are^^ Hatschepsut is the German vision of the name and my google search tells me that is spelled the same way in english. I'm not sure if that's correct?


	4. Chapter 2: A familiar face

**Chapter two: A familiar face**

_Cairo, February 1935 AD _

Absorbed in her lecture about the reign of Seti I, Lilly didn't hear her boss Khaleb Masabni entering the little room she called her own inside the museum. Like so often before he had to clear his throat several times before she finally noticed him. She was probably lucky that he liked her, or at least the fact that she could demand a lot more money with her kind of knowledge and skills but didn't.

„Mister Masabni," she smiled up at him. "What can I do for you?" The director was a small man who barley reached her chin. He was always dressed in a threepiece suit that was a wee bit to big for him and always wore a big smile on his lips. Lilly liked him, though he could be a bit tiring at times.

"Lady Blackmoor," he started and Lilly sighed but didn't correct him. She'd given that up after her first year and finally accepted that he wouldn't call her Miss Blackmoor, or heaven forbid by her given name. Someone who looked like a lady, talked like a lady and dressed like a lady _was _a lady in his book, at least that was what he told her every time she tried to remind him that she'd inherit no such title.

And considering the simple slacks and blouses she wore most days she wasn't sure if her dress code fitted that of a lady. Hell, if he would overhear her cursing when something rubbed her the wrong way he would be horrified. Being looked away in a residential school near the sea, she had met a lot of sailors over the years, in secret of course. Her mother would have a stroke if she ever heard about her daughter spending time with common blackguards such as sailors, soldiers and hard working people.

Well, Lilly surly had learned few things during that time. Knowledge no school but that on the streets taught, and in a place like Egypt where everyday live was a lot harder than in the western countries it had already helped her more than one time.

"...remind you of the little soiree Friday evening." His words finally ripped her out of her musings. Soiree? By the way Kahleb was looking at her he expected some sort of answer.

"Of course," she hurried to assure him though she wasn't exactly certain what she just committed herself to. Somewhere in the back of her mind she believed to remember him telling her something regarding an exhibit of some flashy treasures and one or two not too bad preserved mummies, but she could be mistaken. Usually she only half listened to things like that.

Lilly hated those gatherings, where a bunch of rich and ignorant people tried to show everyone, who was willing to listen, their self-importance. The men were seeking for adventure and treasures while the women never failed to whine about the hardship they had to endure during their visit here. It was terrifying how much they had in common with her mother. Unfortunately she was the only western woman who worked for the museum and Kahleb was always eager to shove her in front of him to impress the guests. At first she hadn't minded much but over time she'd developed a deep aversion against any event that was held in regards to supporters, sponsors and self-called patrons.

"Wonderful, Baron Waidelsburg will be happy to hear that." Lilly cringed at the mention of the older Austrian gentleman, but Kahleb didn't seem to notice. "He's one of our most respected supporters and I would have loathed to inform him that you couldn't make it. He seems very fond of you."

_More of her breasts._

"I wonder why," she muttered sarcastically.

"Well, maybe it's your shared origin," the director tried helpful and Lilly had to bite her tongue to keep herself from telling him that Austria and Germany were two different countries which simply shared a border, like it did with eight other countries but for some reason people weren't able to get that through their skull.

As for Wilhelm Waidelsburg, she wasn't sure what to make out of him. Though he belonged into the circle of western people who thought their money and social standing made them superior to people in this country he wasn't stupid. A bit snobbish like most of them but not overly so, overbearing at times and a tart bit too courteous. But other than most he was truly interested in Egypt's colourful history and was fascinated with everything that was associated with it. He was the money behind a lot of archaeological excavation from Aswan up to Gizah and supported museums in Cairo as well as in Alexandria which made him a welcome guest in a lot of places.

And she would have enjoyed their conversations about famous Pharaoh's and amazing discoveries if it wasn't for his wandering eyes. Every time he thought she wasn't looking he would stare at her chest. Just thinking about it made her cringe. The man was old enough to be her father!

But like every other time she would smile and keep her mouth shut. She liked the job too much to risk it with some smart mouth comment.

"I will be there, Mr. Masabni."

"Wonderful," he smiled his big genuine smile, one she couldn't share. He was about to turn around but hesitated for a moment before he added. "I know you cherish scrolls and books more than gold and diamonds, but it's what the western people seek to find when they come here. And unfortunately we depend on the good will of our sponsors. Besides it will only be for a few hours, Lady Blackmoor." He added nearly apologetic.

"I know," she sighed and suddenly felt guilty. "I will do my best to not let you down."

That brought another smile on his face and this time he left. She was more than happy to spend the remaining time of the day learning more about the life of Seti I and the mysterious circumstances that surrounded his death. Obviously he was murdered by one of his mistresses who had a forbidden affair with one of the the Pharaohs high priests. The book wasn't very explicit regarding their punishment, it simply mentioned something called _Hom Dai _an old and terrible curse Lilly never heard about which only spurred her on. Soon enough she was once again captivated by a long forgotten piece of history.

Little did she know that it had never been forgotten and was still fresh in the minds of some people. Lucky for her she would never be able to find out for herself what horror and dread the _Hom Dai_ was capable of. Unfortunately the creature which had been destroyed once and for all, just three years ago, wasn't the only menace that lurked in the shadows of Egypt's desert.

* * *

Friday evening came quicker than she liked but was exactly as she expected it to be. Stiff, boring and annoying. The food was good, the music drowsy and the guests were starting to get to her nerves. Mostly the women of course. There was the fraction in the high necked, good catholic church dresses who saw themselves as the bearer of true believes to the poor souls in this country.

The other half was dressed _en vogue_ in low cut flimsy Grecian dresses and flashy jewels. A cocktail in one hand, a cigarette in the other. Their life goal obviously was too spend as much of their husbands money as they could and try to life up the picture of a worldly woman.

Lilly wasn't sure which fraction she disliked more.

She herself was dressed in a simple but but more befitting green Grecian dress, that left her shoulders and arms bare but covered enough skin to appear decent in the eyes of the native people. As guest in a foreign country Lilly considered it as a matter of course to respect the local morals and customs, a sentiment that wasn't shared by many.

Half of the men were treating her like an air-head and tried to impress her with titles and adventures while the other half tried to lecture her. The topics reached form the dangers of being a woman in this uncivilised country, over her unmarried state up to the silly thought she could know something they didn't. It was the latter that irked her the most.

She'd left Germany to escape this kind of people only to find the paradise she'd experienced as a child invaded by them. Most of her days she enjoyed her stay here but in situations like this she dreaded it as much as every social event her mother dragged her into.

Currently she had to listen to a man, who'd introduced himself as Lord Humplebottom and somehow she'd managed to not laugh outright into his face. After ten minutes listening to him the urge to laugh had made room for annoyance. He was trying to lecture her about King Tut and his tomb, first hand information as he assured her, after all he and Howard Cater used to lunch now and than. Unfortunately he mixed up a few things, like the year Cater discovered the tomb, she also doubted that it was the curse that haunted and killed all the people who found their death shortly or not so shortly after the discovery. But Lord Humplebottom assured her that he himself once snatched a glimpse of a mysterious shadow that lurked behind Caters shoulder. That was the point she decided to take her leave.

"Please forgive me the interruption Lord Humplebottom, but it looks as if Mr. Masabni is in need of my assistance. Unfortunately I'm here for work," she added with the sweetest smile she could manage and the required amount of regret in her voice and was relived when her opponent hurried to assure her that he completely understood.

Lilly suppressed the urge to run and settled for a hurried but more appropriate pace instead. Without loosing her smile she made her way through the crowd of people towards one of the balconies. They were on the first floor but it wasn't that height, maybe...

_Don't be ridiculous, _she told herself off. Two hours more and it would be socially acceptable if she took her leave. Maybe she could hide outside till then, at least for a little while.

She stepped outside without casting a look to either side and took a relived deep breath. It was late February and the temperatures during the night were cool but pleasant. She welcomed the mild breeze on her skin and closed her eyes, trying to blank out everything but the air on her skin and the scent of the flowers that adorned the balustrade. It was then, while she focused on her her other senses, that she registered the sound beside her. Instantly her eyes snapped open and she turned around.

The museum was one of the few buildings in city that possessed outdoor lighting, so she had no problems to identify the source of the sound; it was a man.

But not just any man. It was the same man that appeared in her dreams since she was a little girl. Lilly could hear herself suck in a deep breath as she starred into a face that hadn't aged a day since the last time she saw it. The same dark hair, dark eyes and golden skin adorned with three tattoos. Obviously she was sawing cause the next moment she felt strong hands on her arms that hold her upright.

"It wasn't my intention to frighten you!" His voice was deep, with a slight accent and apparently he was distressed over her reaction. Under normal circumstance she would have been embarrassed about her wallflower behaviour but she was too shocked to care.

"Aden," she whispered, nearly afraid he would vanish if she spoke to loud. As soon as the name left her mouth she could feel his hands on her tighten. He was near enough to see his eyes widen in shock and from one moment to the other the worry on his face vanished and an cautious look to it's place.

"Who are you? How do you know that name?" Absently she noticed that his accent sickened and he was shaking her slightly.

"I'm Lilly, you..." Abruptly she stopped something wasn't right. It took her a moment to figure it out, but the outcome of her thoughts made a lot more sense than the alternative.

"Your tattoos...you are not Aden!" While the one on his forehead was just like she remembered, the other two...the warrior marks, those were different. Of course it was over a decade ago that she met the man who was the source of so many decisions she made in her life, but she'd dreamed of him, drawn him and she was absolutely sure that his marks had been different.

The Medjai – she was fairly certain he was one, considering the mark on his forehead had loosened his grip on her arms but wasn't letting go completely. He was looking at her with a strange expression as if he was searching for some kind of answer, but finally he stepped back.

"No, I'm not. My name is Ardeth Bay, Aden was my father!"

Lilly nodded. Yes that made sense. More so than Aden being alive and looking like he did all those years ago. "You look a lot like him. I'm sorry I confounded you with him." She mumbled lamely. She wasn't sure why she apologised.

"So I'm told." He nodded, obviously familiar with that comment. "How is it that you know of my father?" He asked rather blunt, but Lilly couldn't blame him. The situation was odd. Both of them were staring at each other as if all their questions would be answered if they only starred hard enough.

He was dressed in a simple black robe that made it difficult to see much of him beside the fact that he possessed a strong build and it underlined the self-confidence and strength he was broadcasting in waves. Lilly wasn't someone who was easily intimidated, but she was sure he used to have that effect on most people. There was just something about him that made you want to take a step back and be careful not to anger him. Of course it had the opposite effect in her. When other people knew it was time to retreat, she would stride forward and say something she shouldn't.

But he wasn't trying to intimidate her and he hadn't grasp her to hurt her. He was simply shocked and surprised and he had every right to be. Here she was a foreign white girl who knew of a man she never should have met. _A girl who'd turned around and left, happy about her flashy gift._

"I met him when I was a little girl," she finally answered, unsure about what to tell him exactly but settled for the truth in the end. "I was eight and hiding form my parents who wanted to return to Europe. I liked Egypt and thought of it as my home and I was determined to stay. So I was wandering aimlessly through the streets of Cairo when I met him, he..." Here she was unsure how to proceed. Should she tell him what she figured out through the years or stick to the view of the little girl she was that day? Alls she knew about the man in front of her was his name and she really wasn't all that comfortable and willing to share everything.

Ardeth was simply waiting for her to go on. Obviously wanting to hear more but polite enough not to push her.

"Your father...he tried to cheer me up, told me I could return return when I was older and that my goodbye needn't be forever. He even made me a present." Unconscious her hand wandered to her neck and found the medallion. She could feel the Anch resting between her breasts under her dress and was just about to fetch it to show him both when she heard lout voices from the inside.

At first she simply thought someone had one glass to many and was now making a scene or some poor servant spilled something on one of the fancy dresses, which would explain the high pitch shriek. But the next moment a man's voice, loud and barley articulate due to the heavy accent, could be heard about the raising noises.

"Quiet!"

"Quiet! Nothing will happen to you if you do as we say! Better not play the hero or the next grave you will be visiting is your own!"

Lilly couldn't believe it. They were victims of a robbery!

She risked a quick lock to her side and nearly yelped as she noticed Ardeth, a scimitar in each hand and ready to battle. What was he going to do, run in there and fight for guts and glory?

Was he insane?

TBC

* * *

A/N: tatatatahh..Ardeth is finally there. I hope you enjoyed it so far.


	5. Chapter 3: Unexpected guests

**Chapter three: Unexpected guests**

_One week earlier:_

"What are we going to do, Ardeth?" Rashid, his second in command, asked him with a never weaving calmness in his voice. It wasn't the first time Ardeth envied him that inner calm. Rashid would have made an excellent chieftain, maybe a much better one than he was. And maybe one day he would be forced to take that place.

Though Ardeth was still young, he had no heir who would be able to take over his duties, in case of his death, which he'd averted many times in the last few years. But Ardeth knew that he would be out of luck sooner or later and the elders were quite insistent to remind him of that, every time they got the chance.

"_Do not forget your duty Ardeth! Though you've honoured the scared vow to our gods more times than a single man should in his lifetime, you should not forget the duty that you owe your clan. "_

They made it sound so easy and in their minds it probably was Ardeth thought grimly. It wasn't that he was short on options, he simply had no time for starting a family. At least that was what he told the elders. It wasn't a complete lie, considering the events of the last ten years. But the real reason why he hadn't taken a wife yet was that he wanted what his parents had shared. What O'Connell and Evie shared; Love.

Not the fleeting warm feeling he got while he looked at a pretty face or shared a first kiss. Not even the earth shattering feeling he found in the embrace of a woman at night.

He wanted a woman whose spirit touched his, whose temper would keep him on his toes and whose passion would inflame his own. Ardeth wanted her to be loyal and trustworthy and he wanted her to be love him – Ardeth the man. Not the chieftain who would ensure her a comfortable life.

Until now he hadn't found such a woman and deep down he feared he never would.

So he pleaded other things in front of him and unfortunately there were enough things to worry about. After their victory over the Scorpion king and Imhotep he really thought the Medjai would be able to take a rest for a while. That _he_ would be allowed to relax for a short time, but the gods had other plans. And who was he to question them?

Treasure hunter's and tomb raiders were a common disturbance and reached back to the early days of the Pharaohs. But during the last two hundred years, western people took a shine to the tombs and temples of his people and their curiosity and persistence had been the cause of many disasters. Some possessed a pure heart and were simply seeking out Egypt's secrets due to their thirst of knowledge, others wanted to be part of something big for once in their life and many others were driven by greed. Lured by the promise of gold beyond imagination.

But they all presented a threat to the Medjai, regardless of their intention. Once upon a time they had been the Pharaohs personal guards, entrusted with the most dangerous secrets and the Medjai hadn't forgotten. They were still guarding what wasn't meant to be discovered and it was on him, chieftain of all twelve tribes, to assure their success.

Ardeth felt as if it was harder than ever to keep things hidden. They had lost a lot of people three years ago and the Medjai, once thousands in numbers, were barely more than a few hundred, most of them women. They hadn't the capacity to watch everyone and unsurprisingly it was now causing a problem.

Western people were once again digging were they shouldn't and searching for things they should have no knowledge of.

"We aren't sure what they are searching for but this men are no venturers who are digging for gold and a few trinkets. They have a goal." Rashid reported visible uncomfortable with his lack of knowledge. Ardeth shared his feelings but knew that he couldn't do a lot about it at the moment.

"Do we know which temples they are interested in?"

"Unfortunately the right ones. It's quite possible that they shelter some of the old relics. But so much records got destroyed over the years that we can't be sure."

Ardeth mused about Rashids words for a moment. His tribe was the keeper of many secrets and was supposed to protect the world from things most people dismissed as fairy tales. It was a honourable duty, but it was difficult enough to fulfil when they knew about the danger. Ardeth had no idea how they should protect the world from the things that got _lost _over the centuries.

"Tell the men the same as the others. We wait – for now. But should they really find something, they can't be allowed to take it!" The situation reminded him too much of a similar one not so long ago. And he still remembered how that ended.

"I will do that. Will you be talking to Kahleb? In the note he send us he sounded very worried."

"He's always worried," Ardeth sighed. Kahleb Masabni was a well trusted friend but he tended to see things behind every corner. It was tiresome at times, but Ardeth wasn't in any position to allow arrogance to rule his actions. Much less ignorance. "But I will go to Cairo. At least it will give me the opportunity to learn more about the people who try to bring death upon us once again. Kahleb knows many and it might be to our advantage."

"It might." Rashid agreed again before he added after a moment of hesitation. "Do you believe they could possible have knowledge about a lost secret?"

Both of them made a sour face at the mention of that possibility.

"I don't know," Ardeth shook his head sadly. "But I fear we will find out sooner or later."

* * *

Ardeth hadn't been able to make it to Cairo until late on Friday. Unfortunately there was some sort of function at the museum and he hadn't been able to speak to Kahlib for longer than five minutes. His guests, all of them from the other half of the earth, were either looking at him as if they expected him to pull his scimitar and attack them, or wrinkled their nose in distaste. Ardeth had been confronted with that kind of attitude for most of his life, and though it still irked him deep inside he'd learned to ignore it.

But he wasn't willing to be gaped at longer then necessary and quickly stepped out onto one of the balconies. For a moment he was thinking about leaving, it wouldn't be difficult to climb down and leave without crossing that room again, but in the end he decided to wait. It wasn't as if he could do much else tonight.

He wasn't sure how long he was standing there, just watching the stars and thinking about the best way to handle some of the problems the Medjai where currently having, when he heard someone rushing through the door. From his position he wasn't visible to anyone before they took a look around but was able to watch everyone.

The intruder was a woman. Young, pretty and obviously quite distressed. She had her eyes closed and was taking deep breathes which seemed to calm her down after a few minutes. The lines on her face softened and she was almost smiling now which made him wonder what she was thinking about.

He expected someone to come after her, but another minute passed by and nobody appeared while she simply stood there enjoying the light evening breeze without too much haste to go back inside.

Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she spun around. Ardeth realised that he'd stepped nearer and the sound of it had startled her, though for the life of him he couldn't remember doing so.

The shocked expression on her face didn't surprise him at first, he was used to it after all. But she turned awfully pale and started to sway on her legs, while she continued to stare at him with wide opened eyes. Cursing himself for startling her, he rushed over and grasped her arms to steady her, hoping she wouldn't start screaming bloody murder. Or worse -faint!

"It wasn't my intention to frighten you!" He hurried to assure her but she just starred at him and then she said something that had his eyes widen in shock.

_Aden._

The name of his father on the lips of this unfamiliar woman was the last thing he expected tonight. "Who are you? How do you know that name?" He demanded forcefully and though he noticed that he was shaking her he couldn't bring himself to stop. His father was a sore spot. He'd been barley seventeen when Aden Bay died and at a private school in America at the time. It was over a month later that he was informed about his fathers death and when he finally got home there was nothing left of the man he had looked upon his whole life. Due to the heat and fear of diseases they burned their dead people. So there wasn't even a grave he could mourn over.

"I'm Lilly, you..." The woman stuttered shocked about his behaviour no doubt, but as abruptly as she started she suddenly stopped and frowned at him. "Your tattoos...you are not Aden!"

If he was confused before it was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. Who was this woman? Slowly he let go of her arms and stepped back while he starred intensely at her. She couldn't be much older than twenty, his father died fifteen years ago, so how was it possible that she knew him, even remembered his tattoos. _Strength and loyalty. _

His own stood for courage and tenacity. Most people didn't even look at him long enough to notice that the marks on his cheeks weren't similar or that different men wore different tattoos.

"No, I'm not." He finally answered her. "My name is Ardeth Bay, Aden was my father!"

The woman - Lilly nodded, as if she'd figured out that much. "You look a lot like him. I'm sorry I confounded you with him."

"So I'm told. How is it that you know of my father?"

If she was disturbed about the sudden sharpness in his voice she wasn't showing it. If he thought about it, she hadn't appeared intimidated by him at all, only shocked to be confronted with a man who looked like a person she'd probably met as a child.

But she'd neither backed away from him nor screamed for help while he'd held herr in his grip, that alone made him even more curious about this woman.

"I met him when I was a little girl," she suddenly answered but seemed unsure how to proceed. "I was eight and hiding form my parents who wanted to return to Europe. I liked Egypt and thought of it as my home and I was determined to stay. So I was wandering aimlessly through the streets of Cairo when I met him, he..."

Eight, that made her twenty-three. It suddenly hit him that he assumed she met him during his last stay in Cairo which would make her one of the last persons who talked to his father before his death.

"Your father...he tried to cheer me up, told me I could return when I was older and that my goodbye needn't be forever. He even gave me a present." The smile that appeared on her lips was soft and dreamlike as if she was reliving that moment in her head.

Ardeth blinked. Did she say, his father gave her a present? He was just about to ask her what he gifted her with, but before he could utter a world a loud shriek from the inside arouse his attention. His head snapped around, while his hands unconsciously wandered to the heft of his scimitars.

"Quiet!" A dark voice with a heavily accent barked which was only followed with more shrieks and frightened yelps.

"Quiet! Nothing will happen to you if you do as we say! Better not play the hero or the next grave you will be visiting is your own!"

_Thieves!_

Obviously his list of problems just got a little longer and somehow he had a bad feeling about this one.

* * *

Lilly didn't thought of herself as a coward, but she was intelligent enough to know when to take a low profile. She had no weapons and even if she had she wasn't sure how it would have helped her at the moment. The men, at least she guessed there was more than one, were obviously armed and had no qualms to use their weapons while she wouldn't risk the lives of the other guests with some heroic move.

So hiding out here seemed like a good idea. There was nothing she could do for the people inside and she had no wish to take part in this robbery more than she already had to.

Ardeth saw things different, no doubt. What was he going to do? Storm inside and hope they would run in fear or attack him with something other than a gun? He was alone and scimitars might be useful in a honourable one-on-one fight but quite useless in a situation like this.

After a minute he seemed to come to the same conclusion and it wasn't hard to notice that he was less than happy about it. The warrior in him probably didn't appreciate a situation where he was forced to withdraw. Lilly was just happy that he belonged to the sort of men who used their brain and knew the difference between courage and stupidity.

But after a few minutes it dawned on her that there was no place to hide out here as long a the outdoor lightning was on and sure enough, as soon as the thought crossed her mind one of the thugs stepped through the door. And quicker than she could blink Ardeth had gripped the man by the hem of his dirty shirt and thrown him over the balustrade. Unfortunately the surprised man let out a terrified scream before he hit the ground and alerted his companions.

The next one who rushed through the door was hit with a mean right hook from the Medjai who'd decided that his weapons wouldn't do him any good at the moment. But this time he wasn't able to get a hold on his opponent to send him flying and the next second they were both looking down the barrel of a gun.

_Damn it to hell. _She cursed her own inability to act, but now it was too late anyway.

"Enough!" The man grunted and eyed them both warily before he focused on Ardeth. Of course the silly little woman couldn't be a thread to him. For that alone she wanted to make him pay. Bastard!

"_Your weapons, toss them away!"_

Ardeth looked like he would rather poke his own eyes out than to part with his scimitars but in the end he followed the order.

"_Not so brave any more, Medjai scum are you?" _The man laughed and spit in front of Ardeth. Lilly assumed he meant to hit him, but failed. Gross!

"_What are you doing here? Hiding outside with your whore?_"

The man was speaking inArabic but obviously failed to notice form the murderous expression on her face that she could understand him perfectly clear.

"_If she is good enough for Medjai scum like you, maybe she and I will-"_

"Abudl!" The loud bark form the man who'd spoken first interrupted his disgusting speech and prevented her from doing something stupid. But, by God if he dared to touch her she would kill him. She shuddered at the thought of his filthy hands on her.

Abdul grunted unhappy about the interruption but who ever the other man was, he was clearly in charge and Abdul hurried to get them inside.

"Get in. And don't try something stupid!"

Ardeth looked at her before he quickly stepped behind her, so that he could shield her from anything Abdul may try. Lilly was thankful for it but at least Abduls suggestion managed to rip her out of her her cationic state. Well, anger had to be good for something.

The sight that greeted her inside wasn't much of a surprise. Every one was forced into a line while two of the thugs went form one to the other with a bag that was being filled with money, jewels and anything else that was of value. Most of the women were crying silently while the men did their best to act calm and unmoved. Some were stroking the backs of their wives and mumbling soothing words, others appeared as helpless as their counterparts.

The leader, a bulky man with a long scar across his right cheek arouse her attention, when he saw Ardeth stepping into the room beside her.

"_Medjai!" _He spat and sounded as disgusted by the word as Abdul before. In all likelihood the desert warrior wasn't very popular with rugs and thieves. The few books Lilly had found about them described them as the guardians of Egypt's treasures and secrets so she wasn't really surprised.

"_Where's Baqir?"_

Probably whimpering in agony from his first flight, seven feet below them.

"_I think the Medjai threw him over the banister!"_

For a moment Lilly feared the man would make use of his weapon but then the angry look vanished and a smeary smile appeared on his lips.

"_More for us!"_ He shrugged and from the sardonic laughter, the other four men agreed with him. Lilly tried to keep an eye on each of them but with Abdul behind her and two of them rushing from one terrified person to the next it wasn't easy.

Scarface hadn't taken his eyes of Ardeth and was slowly coming nearer, till he was standing directly in front of them. He grinned at the Medjai at her side, a dirty nasty grin that promised nothing good, before he simply punched him. She jumped in surprise while Ardeth leaned over in pain but didn't make a sound. Obviously Scarface wasn't too happy about that and punched him again, this time Ardeth did groan and Lilly's protective instincts sprung into action before she could stop herself._ Or use her brain!_

"_Leave him alone, you coward!"_ She cried and the next second she was standing in front of the panting Medjai. The moment the words left her mouth, she knew what was coming but it was too late to prevent the inevitable from happening. The back of his hand hit her square across her face and for a second Lilly could actually see stars in front of her.

Ardeth yelled out something she couldn't understand but she heard him hitting the floor the next moment. She wanted to look but Scarface's hand had grasped her yaw and turned her forcefully in his direction. Her hair was falling in tumbles down her face, detached form the careful nod she'd fixed them into this evening, and blocking a good part of her view.

But she could see enough of his face to let her know that he wasn't amused by her act of heroism.

"_Trying to defend your lover?" _He snickered while he tighten the grip he had on her. She could hear the scandalised gasped from the other guests in the background, though she guessed it had more to do with the way Scarface was treating her than the way he was talking about her. Beside Kahleb and Ardeth there weren't many that could understand Arabic.

"_But I think I can see what draws him to you. Feisty!"_

What was it with this men who were all trying to impute her being a whore? Lilly choked down the urge to hit him where it would really hurt and just stared angrily at him. That only had him laughing and the next moment he let go of her. She stumbled one or two steps back before she found her balance again. Her face burned and her legs felt shaky but she managed to put herself together.

"_Your jewellery if you please!" _He invited her with one of his smeary smiles and and a fake sweet voice.

Grudgingly she took out her earnings and the small gold bracelet she got from her father a few years ago and handed them over to him.

"_All of it!" _He barked and her fingers flew automatically towards her medallion. There was no way in hell she was giving it up. Her eyes took a quick side glance in Ardeths direction, he was still kneeling on his knees and looked as if he wanted to jump between her and Scarface but Abdul prevented him from going anywhere. At least the gun at the back of his head did.

"No!" She whispered. Lilly knew it was stupid and utterly suicidal but she just couldn't bring her self to give up the medallion.

Later she would tell herself that it might have been their luck that she'd lost every ounce of self-protection in that moment, but it was stupid none the less. Scarface made a pass at her again, but this time she was quicker. In a fluent motion she avoided his hand and her own fist landed with a nauseating crack on his nose. The shrieks around her and his surprised face that quickly turned into a furious mask were the last things she remembered, before she made the acquaintance of his fist for the second time in five minutes.

But this time her world turned dark.

TBC


	6. Chapter 4: Sharing a memory

**Chapter four: Sharing a memory**

The first thing Lilly noticed when she opened her eyes was the bright sunlight. Blinking she tried to adjust her eyes. Her head hurt like hell, which was probably a good sigh. You had to be alive to feel pain, right? Groggily she tried to fight the thin blanket, that covered her, down.

"You are awake."

The unexpected voice had her sitting upright with a surprised yelp.

"God, don't do that!" She gasped and glared at Ardeth who was sitting beside the window, across the room. With a quick glance around she realised that she was sitting on a bed. _Her _bed, in _her_ house! That realisation had her sitting straighter.

"How did we get here?"

For a second Lilly caught an embarrassed expression on his features but he covered it quickly and walked over to her side.

"How are you feeling Miss Blackmoor?"

"Lilly." She corrected him automatically, but frowned. She never told him her full name and how the hell did he know where she lived? Slowly she touched her face but winced as soon as her fingers made contact. "I'm fine." That probably didn't sound very convincing but whining wouldn't change anything.

"What about you? What happened after...he knocked me out?"

A noise that sounded like an odd mix between a growl and a sigh suddenly filled the room and Lilly needed a moment to realise that it came from Ardeths chest. She wasn't sure if he was angry because Scarface knocked her out, or because of what happened afterwards. Whatever it was, it still had him in a dark mood.

"You shouldn't have opposed him," Ardeth told her sternly. "It was brave but imprudent."

She glared at him. "And trying to overwhelm them alone wasn't?"

"That's different!"

"Why? Because you are a man?"

"Yes!"

If looks could kill, Ardeth Bay would be nothing more than a pile of smoking dust on her floor. She fisted her hands in an attempt to suppress her anger, but without much success.

"And because I'm a woman I've no right to defend what's mine? I have to stay deedlessly around and let some smeary little thug manhandle me and the people around?" By now she was standing beside the bed, hissing and spitting like an angry cat and for a moment the Medjai in front of her looked like he had a hard time to restrain his own temper. But as quickly as the storm clouded his face it vanished and he looked nearly remorseful.

"I apologise. But where I come form, women are treated with respect and gratitude. They are the heart and soul of our tribes. It's them who raise the children, look after us and give us strength. It's only fair that we are in charge of fighting and defending." And just like that he took the winds out of her sails.

"It's not that I doubt your determination to fight, I just think you shouldn't have to." In that moment Lilly realised it wasn't her he was angry with, but himself.

Sighing she sunk back on the bed. "It's not your fault."

"I know," he admitted but that knowledge didn't help him feel any better, that much she could see. Then something else crossed her mind.

"Why are you still here?" Realising how rude she must sound she hastily added "I mean not that I'm not thankful that you brought me here and looked after me but...but..." Great! She sounded like a babbling airhead. "I'm sure you've got a lot of important things to do, so I'm just curious why you sit here with me instead." She hoped like hell that the warm tickling feeling in her cheeks was the result of her bruising and not because of a blush.

The light twitching of Ardeths lips didn't let her get her hopes up though.

_Great! Just great! _He must think her to be a complete moron.

"You were telling me about my father before we were interrupted. I would like to hear the entire story if you would be willing to share it."

Oh right Aden, of course he wasn't here because of her. It was completely understandable so she wasn't sure why she felt slightly annoyed by his answer. But before she could muse about it any longer another thought stuck her. Her medallion!

Her hands flew to the spot around her neck, where the charm usually rested but none to surprisingly she found nothing. Scareface obviously took it after he knocked her out.

Adens gift, her fiercely loved medallion, was gone. After all this years in which she had guarded it carefully and treasured the memories she linked with it, it was lost. It seemed silly, after all it was just a piece of jewellery, and the robbery could have cost her far more than that, but at that moment the loss of the gem hurt far more than the punch in her face.

"It's gone!" And even against her best intention she couldn't hold back the tears that rushed down her face.

* * *

Ardeth starred at the woman in front of him, much like he had done since he'd brought her here. After everything that happened in the museum, Ardeth deemed it best not to stay there longer than necessary. The police was called and it was an open secret that there was no love lost between them and the Medjai. So he left as quickly as he could, but he couldn't and wouldn't leave the mysterious woman behind. She'd wanted to show him something his father had gifted her with and deep down inside he feared that he already knew what it was.

The day his father died he was not alone. His best friend and second in command Zahid, Rasul's father, had been by his side. At least till they had attacked the foreigners and tried to pilfer something that should never have found its way into the possession of someone not born into his tribe.

Zahid who'd survived the encounter with the trigger happy Europeans, though barely, had told the elders about their discovery. Obviously his farther had been convinced that the medallion was that of Hatschepsut, queen of Egypt and keeper of the one who shall never rise again.

No Medjai alive had ever seen the gem with it's own eyes, as it had been lost for more then seven hundred years. A half destroyed scroll, with a detailed drawing and a warning was all that was left in their possession.

Till this day nobody knew for sure if Aden had been right but Lilly's talk about a gift and her stubborn refusal to give it up left him with a mix of fear and relief. If the medallion really was what he assumed, his fathers death wouldn't have been in vain. Even deadly wounded he had managed to guard Egypt from the evil that still summered deep down under its surface. Somehow that knowledge weakened the pain he felt at his loss a bit.

Unfortunately Ardeth had managed to loose the gem the moment he found it. And if that wasn't bad enough in itself, he was confronted with a crying woman. Miss Blackmoore didn't stuck him as the emotional type who was easily brought to tears which made the display all the more disturbing.

He had witnessed how she stood up to the thugs in the museum, even punched the leader square in the face when he tried to slap her. Ardeth had simply had no idea what he should do! Crying women made him uncomfortable, way more than he was ready to admit.

"Miss Blackmoor..." he started unsure but she didn't hear him. "Lilly..." His second attempt seemed as fruitless as the first but before he could try a third time Lilly's teary eyes turned dark and furious. She was still crying but now it was out of anger rather than grief he noticed and nearly sighed with relief. He would take anger over grief any day. Ardeth knew how to handle anger.

"This filthy, slimly little cockroach I should have done more than simply break his nose!" The woman in front of him hissed in a dangerous voice. "If I get my hands on him he will wish -" from there on she switched into a language he couldn't understand. It sounded aggressive, rash and fitted perfectly with her rude hand gestures she made. For the moment she seemed to have forgotten his presence which gave him once again the opportunity to observe her.

The person in front of him had little in common with the peaceful slumbering woman he had watched over since he left the museum. In her sleep she had almost looked angelic with her delicate features, creamy skin and silky auburn hair which spread around her head like a halo. There was no denying that she was beautiful and so very different form the women around here, but also very fragile...at least when she was unconscious. At the moment she reminded him more of a tiger that roamed the length of its cage than a fragile girl.

She was still dressed in her evening robe but it had stopped to appear elegant around the time she broke the thugs nose and it got sprinkled with blood. By now it was crinkled, spotted and partly ruined. Her hair was tousled and whipped animatedly around her head while she paced cursing up and down the room.

Despite the situation he found himself amused by her heated rant and couldn't help but admire her fiery spirit. For a few minutes he just sat back and enjoyed her little temper tantrum before he remembered once again why he was here in the first place.

"The medallion," Ardeth started as soon as she'd calmed down a bit. "Is it the gift my father left you?"

The question calmed her down almost instantly. Gone was the heated look in her eyes and all that remained was a deep sadness as she sunk down on the bed again. But was it the loss of her gem or the memory of his father that saddened her so? He intended to find out.

"Yes, it was something like a...like a parting gift."

"Parting gift?"

"Well..." She mumbled and for a second Ardeth was sure he saw a faint blush in her cheeks. "The time we spend together was short. Only minutes. Looking back it seems odd that a stranger would gift a little girl with something so rare and beautiful, but I was just that – a little girl." Sighing she sat down on the bed again. "I don't know how often I relieved that memory I have of your father, but by now I'm pretty sure he wasn't...well. I believe hat was why he gave it to me."

She seemed rather uncomfortable with the subject and Ardeth guessed he understood why. As a girl she must have been overwhelmed with her gift without paying much attention to other things, but the woman in front of him realised that something had been very wrong with his father and now felt guilty about walking away.

"He was mortally wounded." It wasn't a reproach, he simply told her, as he was pretty sure his suspicion had been right. Lilly sucked in her breath sharply, but a look at her face showed him that she wasn't really surprised just guilt ridden. "I doubt there was something you could have done to help him." He tried to sooth her but without much success.

"But I left him. I took his gift and simply left him. He told me to go and I just did!" Ardeth was unsure how to respond. His farther had easily radiated authority and people randomly hesitated to do as he said, himself included. So it was no wonder she did the same, although a very small part of him wondered what would have happened if she'd noticed something was amiss.

_She probably would have tried to find help and would have lead the foreigners to his fathers unintentionally. And they would have noticed the amulet around her neck..._

"The amulet...can you describe it?"

Blinking she looked at him as if he'd just ask her the most stupid question. "I can do better than that. Wait a moment!" And without another word she jumped up and rushed out of the room. Ardeth hesitated but finally decided to follow her and found her in the little room across form her bedroom which undoubtedly was used as her study.

A massive book shelf was filled with countess old tomes, scrolls and loose slips of paper. Various framed paintings leant against the wall, pottery and multiple other items out of ivory, stone, gold and different gemstones were carefully arranged on a long wooden table. Other than that only a heavy wooden desk and a used looking leather chair occupied the room. He was no expert on this but for a woman's office it somehow lacked the comfortable and homey atmosphere one would expect, her whole home did for that matter. It wasn't as if he had seen many to compare Lilly's to, but when he thought of Evy's and Ricks home he automatically remembered the warm and welcoming atmosphere their home radiated. Which no doubt was Evelyn's doing, considering Rick's idea of a home decoration would probably consider a big target to practise his knives throwing skills. But Evy used lots of colours, carpets, framed photos, candles and other useless but charming trinkets to make their home inviting.

From the material of her clothes and the expensive looking earrings, Ardeth knew that Lillys lack of furnisher had nothing to do with her financial status. The things she possessed were of good quality, but fulfilled a necessary need. The only things that seemed to reflect the person that lived here were the artefacts she was studying and the framed photograph on her desk. But before he could take a better look at it, Lilly turned back to him with a paper in her hand, which had been hidden somewhere in her desk.

"Here..." she took an unsure step in his direction and handed him the paper." Ardeth swallowed heavily as he starred at it. For a moment he actually thought his eyes would play him a trick. Could it really be? The very thing they'd searched for, for endless years and was the source of many sorrowful sleepless nights?

It was a very good sketch of the medallion. Two in fact. One showed the gem closed and beside from the Anch which covered the lid it looked remarkably unspectacular. It was the second picture that caught his eyes.

Sekhmets lion head was artfully detailed and appeared to glare at the beholder through red glittering eyes. The hair of her mane flooded around the head in angry waves which gave the impression that they were alive. It was only on a second look that he noticed the hieroglyphs which framed the portray of the goddess. Frowning he starred at them. As the leader of the Madjai he was familiar with a lot of the old and long forgotten glyphs, but he wasn't able to decipher these.

He was tempted to ask her if she copied them right, but decided that someone who was able to draw a picture with so much depth and detail wouldn't mess up with something like that.

"The medallion was made of gold and the Anch on the front lid from a dark stone, probably opal or obsidian," Lilly suddenly spoke up and ripped him from his musings.

"I suspect the lion represents Sekhmet, Hathors more violent self. She is supposed to be the defender of the Pharaohs and known to mercilessly destroy his enemies." Surprised by her knowledge of his ancient gods he looked at her.

"That is right!" There was more to the history of this goddess but he saw no need to provide the information. The less she knew the less danger she was in. Unfortunately he suspected her to know quite a lot. Much like Evelyn she stroke him as a woman of knowledge and intelligence. And probably curiosity. He remembered what Evy's curiosity had caused and winced inwardly. It would be best if he gathered as much information as possible and leave to find the the thieves. After seeing the picture, he had no doubts that the medallion had indeed been that of Hatchepsut.

"Her eyes were of rubies I believe but I'm not sure what material they used for the hair of her mane. Flax maybe, though I find it hard to believe they would use something so cheap in a medallion like that."

Intelligent woman, like he suspected.

"Sadly I wasn't able to translate the hieroglyphs. My ancient Egyptian is fairly fluid and my fathers books cover even more ancient languages but I was not even able to narrow down the dynasty it must be from." The more she talked about the subject the more excited she became he noticed. "I tried to find a lead in the library at the museum, but no such luck. Do you have any idea what they could mean?"

Her eyes were practical gleaming with anticipation and Ardeth was nearly sorry that he couldn't answer her question. It was a good thing he was clueless himself, otherwise he might have been tempted to tell her. _She_ was tempting, even in her tattered clothes and messy hair.

"No, it's old. To old to be remembered." Which was a good thing.

The smile on her face fell. "Oh, well..."

"I should go." Inwardly wincing he noticed as the gleam in her eyes vanished, like the smile. He had the impression that she never had the opportunity to speak about his farther and the medallion and now was eager to share the memory. But Ardeth knew it was time that he left. Her evening had already been stressful enough, and his presence in her house would sooner or later bring problems for her. She was a white, rich European Lady and he the leader of the Medjai.

Trouble followed him and she did deserve better.

"I must leave now," he repeated and this time didn't feel bad about it. It was for the best. "Could I keep this?"

For a moment she looked as if she wanted to argue, but something changed her mind and she simply nodded her head. "Of course." Abruptly she turned around and towards the door, obviously to see him out. Folding the paper he silently followed her. Ardeth knew it was stupid, but the moment she opened her front door, he felt surprisingly reluctant to walk through it.

Probably because she'd been the person his father had shared his last moments with. There were still things he wanted to ask her, but he realised that now wasn't the time for it. Somehow he had to find the man who'd stolen the amulet tonight. Otherwise his fathers sacrifice would have been in vain.

Clearing his throat he tried to get her attention. "Maybe one day we could talk again? About my father?"

The mention of his father brought a soft smile on her lips and Ardeth asked himself, not for the fist time, how his father managed to do it. Even dead he managed to charm women, something Ardeth himself never seemed to accomplish.

"Yes, maybe one day we could."

TBC


	7. Chapter 5: Kismet

**Chapter five: Kismet**

Lilly stared at the closed door and sighed long and deep. As soon as he entered her life, Ardeth was gone. Just like his father. But unlike Aden she had the chance to see his son again, eventually. Hopefully..._ah,_ _don't even think about it, Lilly._

It had felt so good to finally talk to someone about what happened, all those years ago. She'd been punished for running away (house arrest for the remaining two days in Egypt under the watchful eyes of her mother – it had been hell) and telling her parents that she'd not only talked to a stranger, but accepted a gift from him would have made it worse. She'd have been forced to give up the amulet and she couldn't do that. So Aden had become her secret.

Over the years there had been times when she would have liked to talk about it, but she'd never been that close to anyone. Except her farther, who would have been the only one with enough knowledge about Egyptian culture anyway. Maybe he would have recognised the hieroglyphs.

Well, maybe not. If Ardeth, a warrior of the Medjai, didn't know how should her farther? Suddenly a thought stuck her. What if Ardeth had lied to her? Did he really not recognise the the signs or didn't he want her to know about the inscription?

In retrospect she realised that he had been rather interested in the amulet. It shouldn't surprise her too much, after all it once belonged to his farther. Had she still been in possession of it, she would have given it to him, as hard as it would have been. It would have been the right thing to do. Something to remember him by.

But it seemed odd, that he had been more interested in some piece of jewellery than what his farther had been talking about in his last moments. He even asked her to keep the sketch.

Frowning she starred at the door and could feel a headache starting behind her eyes. She was seeing things that weren't there.

_You are just mad that he left._

Angry at herself she turned around and stomped back into her bedroom. She was in urgent need of a warm bath and some comfortable, clean clothes. Looking down at her tattered robe she decided that it was ruined beyond repair. Carelessly she opened the fastenings on her dress and let it flutter to the floor. Next came her undergarments, but the odd feeling of something gliding down her skin made her halt in her movements. Looking down her eyes went wide when she noticed the source for it. Safely nestled between her breasts laid the Anch. Blinking rather stupidly at her own chest, she needed a moment to realise that her eyes weren't playing tricks to her.

Carefully Lilly reached for the gem. The chain she'd put it on was no where to be found and was probably split into a half when Scareface ripped the medallion from her neck.

It took her a moment to realise that she wasn't imagine things and slowly, she could feel the smile spreading over her lips. Excitement flowed through her and her first instinct was to run to Ardeth and tell him that not everything was lost, but as quickly as the feeling hit her it left. She had no idea where Ardeth had gone, for all she knew he might live somewhere deep in the desert where she had no way to find him. Least of all when he didn't want to be found.

After the first wave of disappointment left her, anger bubbled up in her. She wasn't exactly sure whom her anger was directed at, but it pushed the pathetic felling of sadness and insecurity aside. Pressing her lips into a thin line she came to a decision. She didn't need some Medaj warrior and she wasn't allowing some filthy thug to steal her precious medallion.

_Oh no,_ she would it back, one way or the other.

* * *

Two days later with a good dent in her pocket, thanks to a lot of bribery, she found herself in front of a battered cabin in one of the more dangerous parts of Cairo. The kind where a woman, a foreign no less, had no business to be if she was interested in her health.

Hence her silly attempt of dress up. The shabby robe and turban that disguised her face, which she'd purchased on a little side stand on her way here, smelled of sweat and tobacco. A mix that made her eyes water worse than any onion. But it fulfilled its purpose, as nobody paid her much attention.

Her determination to get her medallion back had brought her into contact with a lot of a lot of seedy individuals, but in the end it was worth it. One of her new acquaintance was indeed able – for the right amount of money – to identify Scarface.

His name was Mustafa Farouq and obviously he as no stranger in Cairo's underworld and well feared for his nefariousness. Blackmail, robbery, abduction, murder. As long as you paid him for it, he was your man for any dirty business.

But that information left her with the question if the robbery was his own idea or an assignment.

After she found out his name, it wasn't too hard to get a lead on him but now that she was here, in front of the seedy looking café he used to spend his afternoons in, she wasn't sure how to proceed. Should she go in? Mingle with the locals? Wait till he left and follow him?

Before she could come to a decision though, a familiar face caught her eyes. Blinking in surprise she starred at him. In his flawless suit and shiny black shoes he appeared completely out of place and from the disgusted sneer on his face one could tell, that he wasn't overly happy to be here. Speechlessly she watched as none other than Baron Wilhelm Waidelsburg passed her by and walked into the café, she'd been watching.

* * *

Ardeth was annoyed. The two days he'd been searching for the men, who'd robbed them at the museum hadn't been easy on him. It hadn't been hard to find out who was behind it. Mustafa Farouq wasn't easy to forget and a well known name in certain circles. Unfortunately, he had good connections and a lot of henchmen who weren't to fond of the Medjai. Twice he had been lead into a trap and the second time it had been pure luck that he made it out alive.

Absently rubbing his bruised rips, he walked down the busy street where Farouq could supposedly be found. Ardeth could only hope that this time would end more to his favour. It took him longer than he expected to find the seedy little local that he was looking for.

The cabin was small and shabby. The wall was crumbling on so many places that it was a wonder it was still standing. The letters on the name tag were weather beaten and barely visible; _Kismet._

Had he known at this moment about the events that had been sent into motion, Ardeth wouldn't have laughed about the name but taken it as a warning. At least he could have seen the irony in it.

It was early afternoon and most people were still trying to find shelter from the burning sun, inside the cooler buildings or at least under one of the many linen clothed awnings which lined the streets.

Men could be heard talking to each other, while drinking tea or playing a game of dice. Clapping noises from the insides filled the hot and humid air every now and than as well as the bark of a dog. Nothing unusual, given the time of the day. One or two hours later an entirely different scene would play out before him.

It probably would have been better to wait and use the hectic and noisy late afternoon activities to mingle with the people and be less conspicuous, but Ardeth was getting impatient.

Unconscious the fingers of his left hand touched the piece of paper he'd safely placed inside his pocket. After he'd seen the sketch, there had been little doubt left inside his mind that it was indeed the lost medallion of Hatschepsut. And if the tradition that passed form father to son, only the most trusted ones, was true he had to set heaven and hell into motion to get it back.

A cold shiver rushed down his back, as he thought about what could happen if it found its way into the wrong hands.

_Like the hands of a ruthless thug_! Grimacing on the thought he tried to ease his mind with the fact that Farouq probably had no idea what treasure he'd captured.

If he or anyone else with ill meanings would gather knowledge about its true purpose, Imhoteps raising look like a harmless childsplay, should they ever dare to use it.

Pushing his fears aside for the moment he concentrated on what was before him. He had to find Farouq and somehow find a way to get the medallion back. Unfortunately he wasn't even sure if the man was still in possession of it. Two days had passed since the robbery and it was not unlikely that he'd already made money out of the jewellery. If that was the case it would be hard to find the monger, even if Farouq was willing to give up the name and somehow Ardeth doubted that he would open his mouth willingly except to insult him.

Gritting his teeth in frustration he looked around. There were only three shabby men in front of the café. Two playing dice directly beside the door while the third one leaning against the wall, near one of the small windows. Maybe waiting, maybe sleeping.

Unsure how to proceed, Ardeth halted in his steps. Before he could come to a decision though another person appeared at the scene.

Other as Lilly, Ardeth didn't recognise the man itself, but the perfect fit of his clothes, the shiny handle of his cane and his much too light colour of his skin forced everybody to take notice. What could a rich, white man possibly want in a place like this? Ardeth had his doubts that he would like the reasons behind it.

Wearily he watched as the man disappeared inside the _Kismet _and decided to wait and observe for the moment.

* * *

Wilhelm von Waidelsburg barley contained the sneer that wanted to break out on his face. But a man of his standing in society was raised better than to show his feelings in public. Regardless of the circumstance. So instead of showing the disgust he really felt, he forced his face into a mask of indifference while he walked down the filthy street toward café his _acquaintance _used for his _meetings._

As far as he was concerned this meeting couldn't be over soon enough. He wasn't anxious to spend more time with this thus as absolutely necessary. He already regretted that he had to relay on his help. Wilhelm shuddered inwardly as he remembered Miss Blackmoore being punched unconscious during the robbery. Such brutality. But what could one expect from someone as Mustafa Farouq?

Wilhelm knew this type of men. Barley more than animals in his opinion but unfortunately necessary to get a special kind of work done.

Without much further ado he walked into the shabby café and tried to ignore the _guests _inside as much as possible. He'd seen enough of them the first time he visited this establishment and didn't need a fresh reminder of how filthy and seedy everyone appeared. Unfortunately there wasn't much he could do against the smell. More reason to hurry things up.

Using his cane to push the motley curtain aside he stepped into the back room. Nobody dared to stop him like the first time he was here. Well, money had that kind of power and fortunately he was quite loaded. In truth he'd everything a man could wish for. He was good looking, for a man that had trepassed the youth of life some decades ago, educated and he possessed more money than even the beautiful airhead, he called a wife could spend in a dozen lifetimes. But what he really craved for was power. Quite and simple. And if everything worked out the way he hoped, he would hold more power in his hands than anyone in over three thousand years had ever seen, pretty soon.

He would triumph where Caesar, Alexander the Great and Napoleon failed to succeed. Allowedly had they known what he knew today, they might have found what they had been looking for but Wilhelm liked to think that destiny had a plan and there was a reason why no one had been able to find the source of power until now. Like his farther before him, he was convinced that it was his family that was bound to find and use it.

When his ancestor Ulrich Casper, laterly known as Ulrich Casper Freiher von Weißenburg, found the medallion in the Egyptian desert after the Templar lost the crusade against Egypt it wasn't only by change – no it was divine revelation!

The medallion was meant to be used by his family and hadn't it been for this filthy thief fourteen years ago, he would have reached his goal long before now. Wilhelm still seethed in anger when he remembered the happenings of that fateful day. For long years he deemed the precious gem lost, but luck (_or divine guidance_) was on his side.

Three years had passed since he was able to make out the location of the medallion. Years of failed attempts to get it back and frustratingly incapable henchman and family members.

But today that would finally change. Today everything would fall back into its natural state. Just as it should be, with him on top of the food chain.

It was that knowledge, that made it easy for him to return the smeary smile that spread around Mustafa Farouq's lips as he noticed him.

"Ah, Wilhelm my friend," the thug, who was casual leaning a against a wall, drawled out with a heavy accent. Farouq made a sign with his hand, that he should follow him into the backroom where they would be undisturbed, while he continued to talk.

"Two days have passed and you didn't visit old Mustafa. I almost feared something happened to you!" The following laugh matched the fake concern perfectly and Wilhelm was more determined than ever to leave as quickly as possible.

"Fortunately I survived a brutal robbery a few days ago without being harmed. Not all guests were as lucky as I though." Farouq wasn't so thick that he didn't understand the meaning of those words.

"The filthy Medjai had-"

"I'm not talking about the Medjai," Wilhelm interrupted him snidely. The desert warrior could have died a long painful death that night, for all he cared. After all it was his people that stole the medallion form his family. "I'm speaking about Miss Blackmoore. There was no need to treat her like you did."

"The feisty readhead? That one was obviously in need of a good trashing. Don't you teach your women their place? And must I remind you that it was you, who wanted her jewellery?"

For a moment he was tempted to tell _him _where he thought _his _place was in his opinion, but in the end he thought better of it. Unwilling to spend more time than necessary in this place he let that comment slide and concentrate on the reason of his visit.

"So the medallion...do you have it?"

"Of course, I'm a man of my word."

Wilhelm wanted to snot at that but knew better. Instead he kept silent, not willing to play further games and just like he hoped Farouq finally gave in.

Five minutes later money and jewellery changed hands and both men turned their own way with a happy smile on their face.

* * *

It felt like an eternity had passed since Baron Waidelsburg had entered the cafe. Patience wasn't one of her strong traits and slowly she was getting nervous. What should she do? Could she risk going inside? No, too dangerous. There was always the possibility that Farouq or Baron Waidelsburg would recognize her and than...well she preferred not to think about it. Otherwise she would seriously doubt her sanity, considering her current situation she probably should do so regardless.

Endless minutes later the well dressed Baron finally left the cafe, obviously happy with whatever happened inside. He was whistling a happy little melody while he swung his cane zeastful beside him with every step. Lilly hesitated for a short moment before she decided to follow him. Whatever business had transferred inside the local, she was sure that she would get more answers from the aristocrat then from Scarface.

The streets were still mostly empty due to the burning sun, which made it difficult to follow him undiscovered. But not impossible. She was getting better at keeping a low profile, in contrast to...

Lilly nearly stumbled over her own feed as she noticed another person following Baron Waidelsburg, which had just rounded a corner and was now heading into a more friendlier part of town. The man who was quickly changing direction to follow the aristocrat was hard to ignore. And even harder to forget.

The split moment she'd been able to see his face was enough affirm her suspicion. None other than Ardeth Bay in the flesh, imposing and striking as ever, rushed around the corner after the Austrian, obviously not very worried about being recognized. Either he was very brave or very stupid and at the moment Lilly feared it was the latter.

Cursing silently Lilly broke into a short run to round the stone wall into the next street, so that she wouldn't loose track of them. She was neither willing to let Wilhelm get away nor let Ardeth come out on top of her after all the work she'd done. The medallion was her and she was going to get it back!

She'd just crossed the street and was barley three feet away from the corner when a loud _bang _disrupted the air. _What was that?_

It took her a moment of utter stupor before her brain finally screamed the answer at her.

_Shot! Gun!_

Someone had fired a gun. In less than a second she was around the corner and nearly screamed at the scene she was confronted with.

Ardeth Bay laid motionless on the ground!

TBC

A/N: Sorry for the cliffy...the next chapter is already written. If work doesn't get in my way it will be up next week.


	8. Chapter 6: Hidden in plain sight

A/N:  
Egyptian Mythology is, like all the others, very colorful and epic. There are many different visions of one and the same story. I read every vision I could find about those myths that take part in this fic. In the end I adopted the vision that would fit best with my plot, but sometimes I created a wild mix of everything I've read, so don't be suprised if you might have heard a different vision.

How did women act during 1935? I admit I've some difficulties with that. Of course there are countless web sides about it but they aren't really satisfying. I know women had much more liberties before WWII, but certainly not as much as today.  
I'm doing my best to discribe Lilly as a strong woman with modern ideas without overdoing it. In my opinion she can act a lot more freely as others because of her money, but it's still difficult not to overdo it. Specially when it comes to her and Ardeths (very) slowly developing relationship.  
So please forgive me if you think I've got it all wrong.

** everyone who reviewed: Thank you so much...and sorry for the cliffy^^This chapter is much more stressless to read. **

**Chapter 6: Hidden in plain sight**

The first thing he noticed when he opened his eyes was an aching throbbing on the left side of his chest. Confused and still drowsy his right hand swept over his upper body, to find the source for his discomfort. The sharp pain that went through him, when his fingers made contact with a certain spot, swept even the last weariness away.

With a curse that would have earned him a slap to his head form his mother, regardless of his age, he sat up with some difficulties and starred at his chest which was naked apart from a thick with linen bandage. Rubbing lightly over the part that was itching the most, he was relived to notice that the rest of him was covered by a brightly coloured blanket. Starring at it he was hit with a feeling of deja-vu.

Curiously his eyes swept through the room and the feeling increased, but his brain needed a moment to remember why it felt so familiar. Then it hit him, he was in the same bedroom he'd watched over the unconscious Lilly Blackmoor a few days prior. But how did he get here this time? Frowning he tried to remember but before he could really make an effort the door was pushed open.

"Oh you are awake!" Lilly sounded surprised but notedly relieved as she hurriedly rushed to his side. "You shouldn't sit like this, it will put unnecessary pressure to your wound." She tried to push him backwards but he refused.

"What happened? How did I get here?"

With a frown she finally stopped her attempts to push him back and sat down on the edge of the bed directly beside him. While she didn't seem affected by their close proximity at all, Ardeth was highly aware of her next to his barley clad body. A light scent of jasmine flowers that always seemed to tingle in the air around her reached his nose and he felt strangely comforted by it.

"You don't remember?" Shaking his head, though it wasn't exactly true he waited for her to fill the gaping holes in his memory.

"I was following the baron, after his meeting with that disgusting individual who stole my medallion. Obviously great minds think alike because apparently you had the same bright idea. I noticed you a few feet away from me, just as you rounded the corner."

As she spoke the memories in his head became clearer. Yes, now he remembered his efforts to locate Farouq and the posh looking older gentleman. He followed him after he left the Kismet that was true but he couldn't remember seeing Lilly anywhere near. With her dark auburn hair and fair skin she wasn't hard to miss, specially in a dangerous district like the one he'd been at.

"I don't know what happened afterwards because I had to cross the street and round the corner first, but I heard the shot of a gun and started running. When I found you, you were lying on the ground bleeding from a wound in your chest."

Instinctively he looked down but was once again met with the white linen bandage. Blinking he tried to remember the incident, but there were only blurry images of the old man with a sneer on his face and a black long cane in his hands. He could recall an intense pain in his chest but nothing more. So the bastard shot him!

Clearing his throat he looked at the woman beside him. "Obviously I owe you my life."

"The wound wasn't fatal," she shrugged nonchalantly. "And thank god for that. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a doctor who is willing to treat a Medjai and keep his mouth shut about it?" She paused for a moment. "Well, given how long it took me I guess you were in a critical state when I finally...um convinced that snotty man who declared himself a doctor to help you."

Ardeth almost smiled at that. He'd seen her making a point and it had looked very painful. He could only imagine what she did to _convince _the man to look after him. His face fell as he realised that it probably cost her a small fortune. Like she said, it was hard to find someone who was willing to help one of his people. The Medjai were feared by most and regarded with a grudging respect by enough to avoid trouble when he visited the city, but that didn't mean that a single one of them would be willing to crook a finger to safe him.

"Why would you help me?" The question slipped out of him before he could stop himself.

Why would she go through all that trouble when no one else cared? As a single white woman in this country she probably had enough problems of her own without him thrown in the mix.

For a moment she looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "What do you mean, why would I help you? Do you really think I would just let you die in that filthy corner?" She sounded as appalled as she looked and he felt nearly ashamed for his suspicion. But if time did teach him one thing, it was that people seldom did things without reason.

"Most people would!"

"Well, I'm not most people," she snapped and her bright green eyes dared him to say otherwise. Suppressing the sudden urge to smile at her aggressive behaviour he nodded. "Yes and I thank you for it. But you could have prevent me form dying and than drop me off, there was no need to bring me to your home and look after me."

That seemed to calm her a bit. "I didn't trust that man to not call the police and from what I know the Medjai and the local force aren't on best terms. So I thought it better to bring you here. Besides we are obviously after the same man, so..." she shrugged her shoulders.

Frowning he realised where she'd found him and why he'd been there. Until now he hadn't put two and two together. Obviously she'd been after the medallion, just like him. How she managed to find Farouq he didn't know, but he had to admit that he was impressed by her persistent. That was until he remembered how how dangerous that part of Cairo was for someone like her. Ardeth wasn't sure why he cared so much, he didn't know even know her, but the thought of her being hurt made him feel uneasy.

"You shouldn't have risk your life so carelessly, what if..."

"Somebody shot me?" She interrupted him and he inwardly winced at her biting tone. Maybe it was better to change the topic.

"How did you find Farouq?"

"The same way you did I presume," she shrugged. "I asked around, money changed hands, a few threats were made. He didn't really made an effort to hide, so it wasn't to hard."

He doubted that anyone who didn't see her hand out a right hook felt threatened by her, but he thought it better to keep his mouth shut.

"That piece of scum robbed me and I have every intention to get my medallion back! Unfortunately I'm fairly certain, that it isn't in his possession any longer."

"What makes you say that?" The way she narrowed her eyes at him reminded him of a cat that watched its prey doing a particular dim-witted move. He had to suppress the urge to squirm under her stare and appear untouched by her while he waited for her answer.

"The man we followed, I know him. I've no idea how he is involved in everything, but he is. Men like him never do anything without a reason and his appearance today was no coincidence. What I don't understand is, why he would risk so much for a bit money and a few trinkets. The man has more money than he could ever spent in one lifetime there must be another reason."

Ardeth feared he already knew the reason. But how was it possible that this man knew about the medallion. Maybe its disappearance for several centuries had something to do with it, though he had a hard time to believe that. The only people who knew about it, were Medjai and they would sooner die than betray the vow each of them swore to protect their secrets.

"You know something, don't you?" Again her eyes narrowed at him and for a long moment she simply starred before something like comprehension crossed her face. "It has something to do with the medallion, there is more to it than I first thought right? That's the reason you are after it!"

She was too damn sharp witted for her own good.

He ignored her questions, knowing he couldn't answer them truthfully. "What is the name of the man who shot me? You said you know him."

That probably wasn't the smartest move he ever made. With a scowl on her face she stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. "I fear with all that has happened to me the last days I feel a little confused. I just can't remember his name."

"Lilly..."

"Don't you Lilly me! If you want an answer to your question, answer mine! Otherwise my lips are sealed!" She snapped and he once again tried not to squirm under her glare. Allah help him escape the stare of the annoyed woman in front of him. He'd faced mummies less frightening. His half naked and wounded state didn't help to make him feel braver.

"Fine," he finally gave in. She wouldn't let it rest one way or the other so it was maybe better to tell her the truth. Besides she was the only person in seven hundred years who actually held the medallion in her hands. It couldn't hurt to have her help, specially when this unknown man was after what he feared. White men and their stupid greed for power!

"But first I would like to change!" Maybe a layer of clothes would return some of his courage back to him, he thought darkly while he watched her pointing to chair not far from the bed. Much to his surprise it didn't just hold a pile of fresh clothes but also his scimitars.

A slight grin sprat over his face, thing couldn't be that bad as long as he had his weapons. Unfortunately a sharp blade did little to protect a man from a sharp tongue.

* * *

Finally she was going to get some answers! She didn't feel guilty about the way she archived it. Hell, she had a right to know and Ardeth wasn't leaving through her door again, without appeasing her curiosity.

She'd left her bedroom so he could change as he was obviously uncomfortable with her seeing him in his current half naked state. Not that _she _minded. Under all that loose fitting traditional wear Ardeth Bay hid a very fine body. She flushed a bit at her slightly shocking thoughts.

Even though her mother did her best to push her old fashioned prudish believes on her, Lilly had very modern ideas when it came to men, namely that she didn't need one to rule her life. So marriage had never held any appeal to her and now, that she possessed enough money to live her life she always wanted, even less. But she couldn't deny that the other sex held a certain appeal she'd fallen prey to in the past.

She'd kissed a few men and her mother would probably have a stroke, would she ever come to know how comfortable she'd gotten with one or two sailors, she'd met during her night escapes at boarding school. But that was still considerable tame, compared to what she'd seen during those nights. She wasn't stupid after all. Some longings better remained choked as she wasn't willing to live with the consequences. But that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a piece of art when it was directly in front of her.

"Right Lilly, nothing to feel ashamed about," she mumbled to herself while she started to boil water for some much needed tea.

"Ashamed about what?" Ardeths deep voice filled the air and Lilly could barley suppress a shriek at his sudden appearance. She could feel her cheeks heating up at being caught in her private musings about him.

"Nothing," she hastily replied and rushed to put two cups onto her small kitchen table. "So you wanted to tell me about the medallion." While he slowly sat down on one of the chairs he mumbled something in Arabic that sounded suspiciously like _not really. _But she didn't care, as long as she got answers.

"What makes the medallion so special that people have to die for it?" She was thinking about Aden, who died in that dusty alley and his son who nearly shared the same destiny. And her own role in it all, as every time something happened it was her that found them.

"What do you know about about the Eye of Ra?"

Frowning she starred at him, was he trying to change the subject? "That depends. According to my farther there are a few goddesses who could personify the Eye of Ra. The most likely is probably Sekhmet who is the violent aspect of Hathor." He was surprised, impressed even she could see that much in his eyes. Encouraged by his reaction she continued. "She is the female counterpart to the sun god Ra, the violent force that subdues his enemies" The whistling of the kettle interrupted her and she went to prepare the tea. When she turned around once more she noticed Ardeth watching her with an odd expression on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing," he shook his head as if to shake off a persistent thought. "You are correct in your assumptions. Then you've heard about the _Book of the Heavenly Cow_?"

Although she had now idea what he was driving at, she decided to amuse him for now. "Yes, it tells the story of how Ra, king of gods and men alike, sends the Eye against mankind who tries to defy him, when they notice him getting old and weak. The legend says that he transforms his gentle daughter Hathor into the wild and untameable lion-goddess Sekhmet and sends her against mankind. Sekhmet does as she is told and slaughters every man, woman and child that crosses her path. But as Ra witness the destruction he let loose, he feels pity for the people that tried to murder him and decides to prevent mankind form being extinguished." The tea was ready and she paused for a moment to pour them each a cup of good old English earl grey.

"He uses a trick to overbear her. Ra orders that beer be dyed red and poured out over the land. Sekhmet in her greed for blood drinks the beer and in her inebriated state she finally returns to Ra, without noticing her intended victims, and is transformed into her harmless form." Smiling Lilly remembered how her farther told her the story of Ra and many other ancient myths. Other girls might have heard Snow White or Cinderella when they went to bed, she enjoyed tales of Nut who birthed the five main gods, of Isis and Osiris and the never ending fight between Ra and Apophis.

"But Ra is so disappointed with mankind that he decides to leave the mortal realm. On the back of Nut, in the form of a cow, he flys into the sky and ever since then he's never returned."

After she finished with the tale Ardeth seemed lost in the moment, as if he was trying to visualize the things she'd just told him.

"You are right," his voice finally broke through the silence. "Partly. The original and most feared Eye of Ra was indeed Hathor in her violent form as Sekhmet. Like you said she was sent to slaughter mankind for their betrayal against Ra but his trick to tame her didn't go as smoothly as the legend says."

She still wasn't sure if she should be annoyed due to his attempt to distract her or intrigued with his version of the story. In the end her curiosity won and she made an impatient gesture for him to continue. For a fleeting moment she had the impression Ardeth was trying to suppress a smile, but before she could be sure he raised his voice once again.

"Although Sekhmet was heavy inebriated she didn't return. She felt betrayed by Ra's trick and fled into the bordering country where she caused chaos and destruction the very things she was created to fight. Many of the gods went out to stop her but they all failed their quest. So Ra conceived another plan. With the help of a mortal man he created an amulet, made out of Sekhmets blood, hair and claw and charmed it so he could control her."

It took her a second to add two and two before her eyes got wide. "You mean my amulet..." Lilly stopped mid-sentence as she realised how absurd her thoughts were. They were talking about an ancient myth, an Egyptian fairy tale, not a historical fact. Annoyed she pressed her lips together, unsure if she could tame her tongue should she open her mouth. Was he making fun of her?

She was asking him about the medallion and he dished up some fantastic story about the gods? Anger boiled inside her and it wasn't hard to read her emotions on her face, but he didn't gave her the chance to tell him a piece of her mind.

"I know it must sound pretty unbelievable but I assure you it is true. The Medjai have been the keeper of many secrets and tales since the first Pharaoh ascended the throne." He stopped to check her reaction and she had to admit that he had a valid point.

Every source she'd turned to to find out ore about Ardeths people had pointed out that they were once the personal guards of the Pharaohs, trusted with the most dire and feared secrets. If there was someone who would know about such things it would be Ardeth. But a medallion created by Ra himself, to tame Sekhmet? Lilly had a hard time to believe that and she told him as much.

"I know how it must sound to you but it is true."

"Okay," she took a deep breath. "Let us assume for a moment that you are right..."

"I am right!" He interrupted her and she shot him a death glare.

"Then let us assume I believe you instead. What would that mean? That the owner of the amulet only has to snap his fingers and Sekhmet comes crawling at your feet ready to slaughter your enemies for you?" With a snot she crossed her arms in front of her chest and leant back in her chair. He better gave her a good answer or Sekhmet was the last of his worries.

It was obvious that he was getting frustrated with her behaviour, but really what did he expect?

"The owner is indeed able to control the Eye, but first he has to free her from her prison which isn't an easy task. The great queen Hatschepsut, who was aware of the true thread this creature represented, made sure of that. She modified the original prison in case an enemy would take possession of the amulet and use the Eye for his own benefits. Who ever is in possession of the gem also needs the key to her resting place."

"And where might that prison be? I imagine it's not easy to hide a creature that enormous in a country that is mainly build out of sand and flat areas!"

Her question seemed to amuse him greatly but the source of his amusement was completely lost on her and his answer didn't help to make things clearer.

"Well sometimes it's best to hide things in plain sight, don't you agree?"

TBC


	9. Chapter 7: Sands of time

**Chapter 7: Sands of time**

_Egypt 1167 AC_

For a moment Ulrich simply starred at the dead body in front him, as his vision suddenly cleared and he realised what he had done. He had been sleeping and one of those awful memories had haunted him, hauling him back to places he wished he could simply forget. It was nothing new to him and his brothers in armes used to ignore it. There was not one of them that wasn't plagued by similar things. But Sahid couldn't know that and probably tried to wake him.

Ulrich had reacted simply on instinct. He was a knight of the Hospitaller -a fighter to the forces of the Occident. So when he opened his eyes and saw Sahids' dark skinned form hovering above him, he did what every Christian man in his situation would do; he snatched the next best weapon and defended himself. Too late he realised that there was no enemy sneaking up to his side to kill him, only a tender hearted man who'd rescued him from the desert.

Almost desperately he tried to find something like regret or shame welling up inside him but there was none. Such feelings hadn't been there for longer than he cared to admit. He cocked his head and continued to look not yet ready to turn around and go on with his life.

The dagger he had used for the kill was still embedded in Sahids chest. Dark red blood had soaked through his once white linen tunic and reminded Ulrich once again that under their skin they all were the same. Christ, Muslim and god knew who else was out there proclaiming that his believes were the right ones. It didn't matter in the end. Blood was blood. They all had to die, some sooner some later.

He preferred the latter.

It was due to Sahid that _he _was still alive. The desert warrior had found him half dead from dehydration, hunger and sunburns so bad they had turned his flesh into a red blistering mass. And as if that itself hadn't been enough the sandstorm that suddenly surrounded him sure as hell was.

It was a small miracle that Sahid noticed him at all. Ulrich remembered laying in the sand, half mad with pain and thirst. It hadn't been the first time since he left his home to fight in the Holy land, for reasons he'd long forgotten, that he thought he'd to die. He had endured torture, thirst and madness -his own as well as that of others -but nothing had ever been as cruel and unforgiving as the Egyptian desert. It was as if the sand practical waited for some stupid fool to get lost in it so it could sent you on a wild goose of finding your way out, while the sun burned a hole into your head.

So it was no wonder he first thought Sahid to be a nasty trick of his sun-grilled mind. Fortunately it was neither a trick nor was his condition as gravely as he'd first thought. After two days of hallucinating and writhe in pain his fever broke and things started to get better. Sahid provided him with food and water, looked after his wounds and talked to him in that melodic, hypnotic language of his. Over the years Ulrich mastered enough of it to get by, though it was usually easier for him to understand what was spoken then to actually form the words. So he simply listened to the other man, content to know that he wasn't alone.

Ulrich had no idea why the other man cared enough to help a foreigner like him and he never bothered to ask, but it was due to Sahids skill that he escaped the deathsman another time.

But Death, as always, wasn't willing to forgo a dead body if it had been promised to him. But the bastard wasn't very picky. If he couldn't have the one that was supposed to die he would simply choose another. Ulrich knew that. Eaten and be eaten and although he hadn't intended to kill his saviour he asked himself if this kill was the price for his life?

It didn't matter now anyway. With a shrug of his shoulders he turned around to inspect the cave further. Although he had spent the last few days in it he hadn't the opportunity to look around. Partly because he still felt weak, partly because he didn't feel the need. But now that he wore out his welcome he needed to find a way out of here. And collect anything that may be useful on his journey. Without haste he grasped his sword and dagger that rested against the stone wall not far from his former resting place. He carefully searched through Sahids things and beside a few dried pieces of fruit and a bottle of water he found a map. It was old and unfortunately used some kind of picture language instead of Arabic. Ulrich could identify the Sphinx as well as the giant pyramides and he knew that he was east of Kairo at least so somehow he would find his way there.

Other than before when he got separated form his fellow comrades after the battle, he had the advantage of Sahids dromedary which rested in front of the cave as he knew. He had no love lost for the smelly and spitting animals but knew how useful they were in this terrain.

After searching through the main room he carefully checked for smaller tunnels and was surprised how many of them he found. Most were dead ends, barley more than alcoves but one lead deeper into the rock and he was more than surprised at what he found.

Blinking he looked around the small room. The left wall was was formed to be used as a book shelve and he could see several roles of papyrus sticking out. Some where protected with layers of leathers while others were carelessly left to the face moist air. But the right wall peaked his interest. There were dozen of chests and boxes of wood as well as gold, ivory and other shimmering materials. At first he thought his mind was playing tricks with his eyes again, but as he touched and opened them they didn't disappear.

A low chuckle left his lips as he starred into biggest box and he could feel something akin to hope rise in his chest. The inside was filled with all kinds of statures, jewellery and weapons. Each piece was made of the finest metal he could imagine and encrusted with diamonds, rubies and other stones that normally could only be found around the necks and fingers of the richest kings and queens. With shaking hands he opened every box he could find and with each lid he lifted he could feel his heart beating faster. Before him was more money than he could ever spent in his lifetime.

He could finally sail home. His breath hitched painfully at the thought. It seemed like a dream. Maybe he was still in on of his feverish dreams.

Home. The place was nothing more than a fuzzy memory. It had been more than ten years since he left his home though it felt like a lifetime ago. As the youngest son of a baron with a lot of land but little money, he was little better than one of his fathers grooms. It was a traceable decision when he declared to join the Hospitallers in the Holy land and fight for their Lord like any good Christian should. His farther had been mighty proud of him and equipped him with a fairly good sword and armour even though their treasury couldn't really afford it. So he had left his home on the back of their best horse to join their forces in the Holy Land. Stupid, young and naïve as he'd been it was a wonder he had survived even the journey. It hadn't taken him long to replace the image of glorious, victorious knights who fought for the right cause in his head with reality. His foolish believes as well as most human emotions had simply been beaten out of him. Over and over again with any kind of weapon and not always through the hands of the enemy.

He was done with this country. With this part of the earth really. All he wanted was a quite and peaceful life far away from war and torture. A woman to warm his bed at night and enough food to never feel hunger again. And now he could have it all.

Ulrich realised that he was daydreaming and immediately put a stop to it. He couldn't afford to be one step ahead of himself. One of his few god given skills was to focus on a mission without getting carried away or worse too sure of him self. It had rescued his hide more than one time and would make sure that his time was no different.

So he fetched the thin sheet he'd rested on and carefully looked through the boxes again. He only took those pieces that were small enough to be easily hidden in his pockets, light enough to carry on his journey and valuable enough to be easily sold on the streets without rising too much suspicion. On his way out with his well filled bag his eyes once again came to a stop on the scrolls of papyrus. Maybe they were maps or showed the location of other hideouts like this. It couldn't hurt to take one or two with him.

The royal signet on some of the leather bound scrolls meant nothing to him, just as the warning hieroglyphs on some of the treasure boxes didn't stop him from taking them with him. Had he been able to read them he may have realised that some things were meant to be hidden and never be brought under the bright sky again. Let alone leave the country.

Luckily for Ulrich, ignorance was bliss and he saddled his dromedary without a glance back or a thought towards the chaos his action would cause.

TBC

* * *

**A/N: Sorry no Ardeth in this chapter^^ **

**I felt it was necessary to explain a bit more about the amulet as well as the Weißenburg family. I did a lot of (superficial) research about religious orders during the 7 Crusades and the Hospitallers seemed the most fitting for my story. Their knights did fight in Egypt and the Order is deeply connected with Germany and Austria, both facts are relevant for my story.  
I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will contain our favourite Mejdai again...  
**


	10. Chapter 8: Thougts and plans

**A/N: ****Sorry it took me so long to update, but RL kept me busy. I've started with the next chapter but I'm not sure when I will be able to finish it. Hopefully soon.  
**

**I hope you enjoy this.  
**

**Chapter 8: Thoughts and plans**

_A few days later:_

With a satisfied smile William raised the thick crystal glass to his mouth and took a deep sip from the expensive golden liquid. Sighing contently, he leant back in his antique leather chair behind the massive mahogany desk. Finally things worked out the way like they should have years ago. He would succeed where is father had failed.

Williams eyes wandered to the small golden amulet laid harmlessly on his desk right beside the old papyrus scroll, which showed an artful drawing of said gem.

His ancestor Ulrich had turned his back on the knights and their holy war, shortly after the Hospitallers suffered a terrible defeat against Egypt. He'd found his way back to Austria and his pockets had been full with enough treasures to offer him a comfortable and carefree life. Other than the golden bracelets, pearls and expensive stones though, the scrolls were carelessly stuffed inside the dusty library and forgotten for many centuries. Until his father, Simon, rediscovered them at the end of the last century. Accidentally.

Due to a rather scandalous affair with the wife of one of his father's friends, seventeen year old Simon was forced to catalogue the library as a disciplinary measurement. Luckily for them all Simon wasn't able to sweet talk his way out of the punishment. Otherwise he would have never found the scroll with the amulet inside. Something about it piqued his curiosity and instead of simply taking the valuable gem, he started to find out more about it. The Rosetta stone had been found nearly a hundred years prior and the knowledge gained from it was the key to the mysterious amulet.

It took him the better part of his life, but Simon was able to decipher the scroll. Careful research, money and irrevocable believe in the myth he had discovered lead him to back to Egypt where everything had begun. The first three trips were without success, but the forth expedition in 1920 was promising. Due to some very helpful information from an outlawed Medjai they started to dig in the right places. The success was practical within their grasp, until that filthy thief stole the amulet right from his fathers hands.

Neither Simon nor he ever wasted a thought to the possibility that somebody might sabotage their undertaking. Truthfully they never thought anybody besides their family knew about the meaning of the amulet. On that meaningful April morning, fourteen years ago, they had been shown differently. Although William had sent men after the two Medjai warriors, who robbed them and even engaged in the search for them, it wasn't enough. They'd only found the one who'd grasped the gem out of his fathers hands. He'd been sitting against a wall in a filthy street with a hole in his chest. Not that he cared.

What did trouble him was that they couldn't find the amulet.

For months they turned every stone and grain of sand, threatened and bribed every person that might have seen or heard something. Nobody wanted or could tell them something useful about the Medjai who unfortunately escaped them. There were twelve tribes, one harder to find than the other, and they hadn't had a clue which they belonged to. The tattoos might have given it away, but the corpse of the Medjai was already gone when they learned about this fact.

William never really believed that the second one escaped with the gem. After the attack both men fled into different directions and he was sure, that they hadn't had the chance to cross ways again. So the amulet should have been in the possession of the dead warrior, the fact that it wasn't could only mean that somebody had robbed him and William wasn't sure, if that was a better or worse scenario and over time he gave up the hope to ever find it again.

His father wasn't willing to accept defeat as easily though. As a Weißenburg, he was used to get what he wanted sooner or later so he spent endless months searching for the gem, but for the first time in his life no amount of money and influence was able to return the amulet to him. Slowly the awareness that his life long dream of finding the secret behind the amulet would never be fulfilled changed him. At first it was barely visible but over time the strength with which he held his body left him as well as the determined shine in his eyes.

In the end Simon was nothing more than the shell of the man he once had been and who William had admired and looked up to all his life. Hadn't it been for that fateful day in April, his father would have fought the infection that overtook him barely two years afterwards. Instead he had lost his will to live and died three months after the doctor diagnosed his illness.

Williams fingers tightened around the glass as he remembered the haggard figure his father had become in his last days. All because of a filthy thief who should never have crossed their path.

But then the events of the last few days crossed his mind and slowly but surely a satisfied smile started to overtake his lips. The amulet was finally back where it belonged and further he was able to avenge the death of his father. At least figuratively. One Medjai less to worry about.

His eyes were still fixed on the gem and not for the first time he wondered how something so small could be the cause of so much misery, determination and power.

"So much power," William mumbled.

And it would be his to command. Drinking the last mouthful of his drink he put his glass down and stood up. Now that the amulet was in his possession he had other things that needed his full attention. Though he had started to make arrangements as soon as he discovered that Miss Blackmoor was in possession of this long lost family treasure, there were things he hadn't been willing to start before the gem was safe in his hands.

Now that that wasn't a concern any longer nothing would stop him from getting what he wanted.

* * *

Lilly felt as if she was seven again and allowed to accompany her father to one of the many archaeological excavations he studied. The sun was burning and she was sweating under the protective layers of cloth that covered her from head to toe, but that didn't stop the happiness that bubbled up inside her. For the first time since she came back here Lilly felt whole again.

Back in Germany she'd thought she simply had to return to this country to lighten her heart. But ever since she stepped from the ship that brought her here, it felt as if something was missing though she couldn't put her finger on it.

The irony that she would find that _something _here, in the desert of all things, wasn't lost to her. Grinning like a fool she regarded the man in front of her, who had finally given up at looking over his shoulders every five minutes to make sure she was still there. As if a bit sand and heat would hinder her!

Ardeth had to return to his tribe to inform them of everything that happened as well as get the necessary help they would need. He would have preferred it if she hadn't come with him, but she'd put her foot down and after everything she'd done for him he obviously felt as if he owed her. Well maybe he simply realized a 'no' wouldn't stop her. In the end she really didn't care what made him give in, she wanted her medallion back, mystical tool or not!

The eye of Ra.

Could it really be true that the amulet held the power to control one of the most fearsome creatures known in Egyptian mythology? Given that said creature existed.

Doubtful.

As a little girl she wanted the stories her father told her to be true. Once she even nicked some food and vine from their home and scarified them in honor of Isis and her son Horus. She pledged with them to find a way so she could stay in Egypt indefinitely. But neither her pleading with the gods nor her parents made her wish come true.

Well, that wasn't entirely true Lilly mused as she looked around. She was in Egypt right now. Allowedly that wasn't exactly what she had in mind as a girl, but she was here none the less. So maybe the gods had heard her wish and simply taken their time to fulfill it.

But as someone who had been raised in a modern world where scientist and scholars were able to explain the most wonder-some things with plain facts and a rational mind, Lilly felt it hard to simply _believe_.

She didn't doubt for a moment that Ardeth full-heartedly believed in the ancient religion of his country though he did pray to Allah. She wasn't especially religious, so why did she have such a hard time to accept that the Eye of Ra might be more than just a myth?

Maybe she shouldn't picture the Eye as the lion-headed beast she'd often seen carved in stonewalls or portrayed in one of her books. Perhaps the Eye was some kind of weapon.

That sounded logical.

While her ancestors still fought with sticks and stones and learned to walk straight, ancient Egyptians were already able to undertake complex surgery. So it wasn't very farfetched to assume that they'd build a weapon, that would be powerful enough to destroy whole armies and make people tremble with fear. Even these days.

A cold shiver ran down her spine at that thought. If such a weapon really existed she hoped it would never be found again. Some power hungry fool would try to use it and a lot of people would suffer and probably die.

Her thoughts wandered towards Lord Weißenburg who was now in possession of her amulet. Well most of it, she thought sourly and her fingers twitched to touch the Anch around her neck.

Lilly realized that she'd forgotten to tell Ardeth about it and should probably make up for it as soon as possible. On the other hand he hadn't told her yet where the mighty Eye of Ra was hidden, so maybe it would be to her advantage to keep it to herself. For now.

What would William do with the Eye? Was he simply after it out of scientific curiosity? To prove a theory? No, that was something her father would have done, the baron wouldn't steal and kill for such a reason. There had to be more. So, was he one of the men who strove for world domination? Who lived for the feeling of power and enjoyed to decide about live and death? He definitely belonged to the kind of people who enjoyed the influence he had over others and he was used to call the shots, but did that make him evil?

It certainly didn't make him very likeable, but that in itself was not a crime. To order a robbery and trying to kill another man however was.

Whatever the reason behind Lord Weißenburgs interest in _her _amulet, or more accurately the Eye, was it troubled her. And somehow she felt compelled to prevent any wrongdoing that could happen. Of course it was silly but the amulet had been in her possession for so long that she felt responsible.

No mythical creature/ mighty weapon would wreck havoc – not on her watch.

* * *

Normally Ardeth enjoyed riding through the desert. It was a good place to muse over important things, as well as an opportunity to relax and allow his mind to zone out. Today though he wasn't able to find the needed ease and quiet that was necessary to do either.

He was worried. Admittedly that wasn't unusual, as leader of the Medjai he was in a state of constant worry. But it was more like a humming in the back of his head. It would change its volume as well as its tune but seldom develop another rhythm.

This time his worry was nothing that could be pushed into the back of his mind. The dreadful feeling that had sprouted inside him weeks ago, was getting stronger every day. It wasn't the amulet alone that nourished the feeling, although he would feel a whole lot better with it around his neck. But there were other incidents that left a vapid taste in his mouth, like the group of Europeans which were digging around the Karnak Temple Complex. He remembered the day when Rashid had informed him about them and their speculation what they might be looking for. Now he had a pretty good idea what they were hoping to find.

He realized that he'd been gone for a few weeks and had no idea what was going on. Inwardly he cursed Farouq and the old man that shot him: Lord Wilhelm Weidelsburg.

Unintentionally his hand wandered towards the wound on his chest, but he stopped himself before he could touch it. It was throbbing enough already and the swaying motion of the dromedary was additionally sending small tremors through it. Actually he wasn't in any condition to travel, but his current situation left him with little choice.

Lilly might have been able to bribe a doctor to look after his wounds, but he doubted that the man kept his mouth shut about it. Only the fact that she'd blindfolded the doctor before she brought him to her home, had appeased him enough to rest a few days before he pressed her into leaving. Well, originally he planned to go alone but she would have none of it. Somehow she had got it in her head to retrieve the amulet and nothing he said could change her mind. Unfortunately he was in no position to simply vanish without her.

Sighing Ardeth refrained himself from looking over his shoulder, to check if she was still there like he had done the first few miles. She was pretty adapt for a woman of her social standing and there was no need for him to look out for her as he initially feared. It relieved him of some of his worries and made it easier to accept her presence. Actually appreciate it, a little bit.

He wasn't ignorant to the fact that she held a lot of knowledge, about the amulet as well as Baron Weißenburg, and the damage it could cause in the wrong hands. It was better to have her in eyesight. His refusal to take her with him, would hardly stop her from getting what she wanted. Her appearance in front of the _Kismet _was proof of that. The woman was much too stubborn and had the money to afford it.

Not for the first time he asked himself what such a woman was doing here in Egypt all on her own. From what he gathered he knew that she had lived in this country as a girl and was finally forced to move back to Europe with her parents. Her quite detailed knowledge about Egyptian Mythology seemed to come through her fathers teachings. Maybe an archaeologist?

Ardeth suspected that the man was dead, the mother maybe as well. He couldn't imagine any man, who would allow his daughter to live so freely and unprotected. As independent as she appeared to be, she was quite foolish with her trust. She didn't really know much more than his name and here she was accompanying him into the desert. Nobody knew where she was or that he was with her. He could do anything he wanted and nobody would ever know. Not that he would ever hurt a woman, but that was beside the point. What was she thinking?

However he had to admit their short but livid time together created an unusual amount of trust between them. Life and death situations did that to people. So maybe it felt completely natural to her to accompanying him without second guessing his intentions. He certainly hoped so, he'd already enough on his plate without worrying over.

Sighing Ardeth allowed his gaze to wander over the desert in front of him. Something big was coming and he feared, he wouldn't be able to stop it this time.

TBC


	11. Chapter 9: Home is where the heart is

**A/N:** I'm sorry for the long wait. I didn't even realize so many month had passed. So here is the next chapter. Still more a fill chappie, but I think it is neccessary to do things slow. The romance as well as the adventure. Gives me more time to think about things^^

Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Home is where the heart is **

_A few days later: _

Samina Bay endured a lot of misery in her life. Her mother died giving birth to her little brother, when she was barely five. Not ten years later her father and brother followed her, when their tribe was attacked by errant thieves. Her mothers family was from the first tribe of the Medjai and she'd been forced to leave her friends and home to live with them. There she'd met her future love and husband the chieftains first born son, Aden.

At first she couldn't stand the arrogant and cocky boy, who had a smile and charming words for every woman that passed his way. But somehow Aden got it in his head, that she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Her refusal and dismissive act towards him, only made him more determined to win her over and in the end she gave in. Samina hadn't regretted one day she'd spent at his side. Aden was everything she ever wished for as a husband and was a wonderful father to their child Ardeth, who adored him.

The day his dead body was brought back to her, she'd thought she would die too. The arch she felt in her chest couldn't have been worse, if someone had ripped her heart out. Ardeth was in America at the time and Samina had been grateful that he wasn't forced to see his farther like that.

Her poor boy had been pushed into the role of a leader much too early in his life. It wasn't fair that he was forced to take over the responsibility for so many people, but he didn't complain and Samina was proud to say that he did a fabulous job. Even though he was confronted with more evil than any other chieftain before him in a long while.

The creature they all had vowed to watch over, had escaped its grave not only once but twice and attacked them with ancient plagues and evils. They had lost many of their own, but under Ardeths leadership they had been able to defeat Imhotep for good.

After everything he'd been through Samina had hoped he would finally settle down and marry. He needed a good woman who would love him, listen to his problems and encourage him when he faltered. A man of his position needed a strong woman who had his back.

With the good looks of his farther and the many tales of his bravery against Imhotep, there were many woman among their tribes who would love to hold this position. But regardless of their beauty, charm and determination her son had little more than a friendly smile for them. There were times, when she seriously doubted she would ever hold a grandchild in her arms. A long time ago she'd even questioned, if he was interested in women at all?

Of course that was before she stumbled upon him and a girl from another tribe, who was there with her mother to visit their aunt for a few days. She'd been so relieved that she hadn't yelled at the two for such behaviour, in a store tent at that.

Ever since that day she'd prayed that he would find a woman who could hold his interested for longer than a night, but he was too much like his farther. Aden once told her that he _just knew _that she was the one for him the first time he saw her and Saminaguessed it would be the same for Ardeth. She only hoped it wouldn't take him too long to meet her, she wasn't getting any younger and she didn't want to die without the knowledge that her son was happy and taken care of.

She should have known though, that her son wouldn't go easy on her. No! Sure she had just told her friend Jasmina, that by now she would be happy about any woman at his side, as long he was happy. But this...

The moment she'd laid eyes on the woman that accompanied her son back to his tribe, Samina just knew that she was the gods twisted answer to her prayers. She was truly beautiful, no one could deny that. In a pale, exotic kind of way. Her dark auburn hair literally glittered in the sun, as she pushed the protecting layers of cloth to the side and more than one man looked at her with awe written on their face. She couldn't blame them, even she herself was spellbound for a moment, although she realised it was a trick played by the sun. The spell was broken however, when her son tried to help her from her dromedary and she snapped at him in irritation, reminding him that he was in no condition to do so.

Samina wasn't sure what she found more shocking, the fact that her son was obviously hurt or that this foreign woman had no qualms telling him off. She wasn't sure if she ever witnessed a woman arguing with Ardeth. Well, beside herself. His position as chief usually allowed her stubborn son to get things his way.

Ardeths answer was just as snappy and for a moment she simply watched the banter between those two. Under other circumstance it would have been kind of amusing, but Samina wasn't so sure about it. Who was this woman?

She noticed Rashid hesitantly approaching his chief and instantly remembered that there was once again trouble blooming and once again it was her son, who was expected to make things right.

Sighing she realised that she would have to wait to greet her son, but maybe she could use the time to find out more about his companion.

* * *

Lilly wasn't sure what to make of the woman, Samina, who had invited her into her tent to freshen up. At first she'd thought nothing of it, just a nice gesture towards a guest. Hospitality was very common among desert tribes. A necessary in a dangerous environment like the desert.

Ardeth had vanished as soon as they'd arrived at the camp and although Lilly wasn't happy about, it she understood that he would have to honour his obligations towards his tribe. Hopefully he would come up with a plan.

"How did you and my son meet?" The unexpected question ripped her out of her musing.

"Your son?" Uncomfortable Lilly starred at the woman. If Ardeth was her son, that would make her Aden's wife. Everything always seemed to go back to Aden and that day in the alley.

"Um...we met each other at museum in Cairo." _During a robbery_, she wanted to add but that sounded so dramatic. "During an soiree."

"Ah," Samina raised her eye brow as if she had a hard time imagining her son attending an soiree. "That sounds...nice." _Yeah, being beaten up was really nice._

Samina looked as if she wanted to say more but, couldn't find the right words. That was the moment Lilly noticed Ardeth's mother had been speaking English with her, but obviously she wasn't all that comfortable with it. Stupid as she was, Lilly told her that they continue their conversation in Arabic if she felt more comfortable with it.

"_You speak our tongue?" _Samina beamed at her and Lilly wasn't sure if the liked the gleam that entered the woman's eyes. _"I mean no disrespect, but how is it that you speak our language so fluently?" _

"_I grew up in Cairo, it was bound to happen." _She shrugged. Her mother had been anything but happy, when she realised that her daughter was more fluent in _that barbaric tongue _and English as she was in German. As her mother was the only one around who spoke it and Lilly tried to avoid spending time with her, even as a child, it was no wonder. Her father could speak German too, but when they were alone he preferred to talk to her in his native tongue.

Samina raised an eyebrow at her, obviously she wanted to hear more. _"My father was a professor for Egyptology and ancient languages. When the war broke out, he fled the country with my mother and me. For a few years I lived here before I had to go back."_

"_You didn't want to?" _

"_No, why would I? Everything I knew and loved was here." _Liliana noticed how similar their talk was to that she had with the woman's husband and felt extremely uncomfortable with it. Should she mention that she had been with Aden the day he died? But what was she supposed to say. _Oh by the way, I met your husband all those years ago. You know when he was bleeding to death in that shabby street. I didn't notice that he was hurt, I was too engrossed with the gift he bestowed on me! _She winced. No, better not say anything.

"_That is why you came back." _Samina nodded. _"And is it like you remember? Did you find enough things you love to stay here again?" _Something in the way the question was asked made Lilly extremely cautious to answer, but she quickly lost herself in the love she held for this land.

"_Um, yes. I love the people here. The streets are always busy and colourful, not like back in Germany where everything is straight and stiff. I love the heat, also I always have to be careful due to my pale skin and I specially love Egypts history. I've been reading dozen of books and travelled to many of the remaining temples and statures. I try to imagine what it must have looked like in its prime and wish I could have seen it, just once. And..." _She noticed that she was babbling like a waterfall and blushed. Normally she wasn't such a chatterbox, but it wasn't often that she had the opportunity to talk about it. Not since her fathers death.

The smile on Samina's face made her feel a bit less embarrassed though.

"_You should ask Ardeth to show you some of the sacred places. Nobody knows as much about them as we Medjai. I'm sure my son would love to take you there." _Again the woman had that odd gleam in her eyes.

"_Um, I'm not so sure if Ardeth would be so willing." _The only reason she was here was because she bribed him. He certainly wouldn't take her on a sightseeing tour.

"_Ah, nonsense! If he invited you here, he will certainly accompany you to see a few of the ancient monuments."_

"_Well, he didn't exactly invite me here. Actually he wasn't happy about me coming along, but he didn't have much of a choice." _Sooner or later Ardeth would tell his mother about this. So maybe it was better if she was the one who told the woman. God knew how Ardeth would make it sound.

"_What do you mean?"_

Sighing she told her about Ardeths injury and her role in his recovery. Although she glossed it over, she could still see the fear in Samina's eyes.

"_So you saved my sons life?" _

"_Not really. I simply paid a doctor to do so." _

"_But you obviously care a great deal about my son, if you are willing to go through all the trouble." _Lilly felt her eyes widen, but before she could say anything Samina continued. _"He is a good man my son, but a bit slow when it comes to certain matters. You just have to be a bit patient with him." _

"_What?" _She stuttered, horrified at the turn their talk has taken. _"No, it's nothing like that!" _

"_Of course not," _Samina agreed quickly, but Lilly could see the smile tugging at her lips.

Great, as if her life hadn't been complicated enough, without Ardeths mother thinking she was in love with her son. Could her life get any more complicated?

It could, as she soon would find out.

* * *

"I'm ashamed to inform you, that some of the foreigners where successful in raiding the Karnak Temple Complex, two nights ago." Rashid told him, as soon as they had entered his tent.

Although Ardeth had suspected something like that, he felt a cold chill creep down his back. He had hoped to position more of his men around the Temple Complex, to prevent the treasure hunters from succeeding in their search.

"Are you sure my friend?" He knew his second wouldn't have told him if he wasn't sure, but the twisted feeling inside his stomach made him ask anyway.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Was anybody hurt while they tried to stop them?" Ardeth knew the answer to that as well. None of his men would have watched deed-less while strangers robbed one of their sacred places. But since the battle against Anubis their numbers where dwindling and it was difficult to protect all the places they needed. Specially in times like this, where many different locations where being explored by strangers. He should have stopped the foreigners weeks ago, while they were still digging. Now it was too late.

"Rafi and Zafar didn't make it. Three others were hurt, we are not sure if Hamid will make it."

Ardeth sucked in a deep breath. This was worth than he expected. "What did they take?"

"That's the worst part, chief." If his best friend was calling him by his title it had to be fatal. "We are not sure what they found. Hamid told us he saw some kind of gold encrusted plate with hieroglyphs on it, but he wasn't near enough to get a better description."

It was like he feared. Many secrets had been lost, over time but with his new knowledge about the amulet Ardeth had a pretty good idea, what they found.

"You remember what your father told us about the day, my father was killed?"

If Rashid was surprised about his sudden change of topic he didn't show it, but simply nodded.

"They indeed found the amulet." At this his friend sucked in a shocked breath. "Father had been deadly wounded and tried to hide in one of the side alleys. He knew that his attackers would find him sooner or later, so he did the only sensible thing and entrusted the gem to another person. A small child, a girl, who happened to come across him."

"How do you know of this?"

"The woman who arrived with me," at this Rashid smirked at him. "She was the girl who found my father." At that the smirk left his friend's lips. "Her family left Egypt soon after and she didn't come back here until a year ago. It was by chance that I met her at the museum."

"Or destiny, my friend. The gods are known for their odd humour." With a snort he had to agree with Rashid. Maybe Lilly _was _godly send, though Ardeth wasn't sure if she was a curse or a blessing.

"Regardless of the reason behind our meeting, I was able to learn about fathers last hours. She was too young to comprehend what was going on, but she cherished his gift to her and always carried it with her."

"Do you mean...you mean the amulet is here? With her?"

"No. Unfortunately we were robbed before she could return the gem to me."

Rashid looked as if he wasn't sure if his chief was playing him a joke. Blinking he opened his mouth but shut it before anything came out. After a moment he tried again. "Robbed? Is that why you are injured?"

Sighing Ardeth shook his head and deemed it best to tell his friend what had happened since he had left the camp.

"So she rescued her life." Gritting his teeth Ardeth nodded. Rashid had the annoying habit to get to the point. "If things continue for you two, like before it won't take you long to fulfil your life debt. Besides it doesn't seem like such a hardship to keep her close until then."

Ardeth didn't care one bit for the irritated feeling that was overcoming him, at his friends words and quickly changed the topic.

"As it is I have a fairly good idea what they stole from the Karnak temple. And if I'm right they will need three more pieces before they can find what they are really after. We need to increase our attempts to guard the Temple Complex in Dendera as well as the Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut."

"You really think they would try to release _her_?" Rashid looked aghast. "That is insane!"

"The greed for power, makes people do frightening things. I fear they will do anything in their power to reach their goal."

Ardeth hoped that they would be able to stop them, however after two encounters with Imhotep their chances to succeed weren't as high as they once had been. Already he had lost two men and the worst part was jet to come.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12: Deir-el-Bahari

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. RL is still a bit hectic at the moment. **

**Big thanks to EmilieBay who fought my evil gramma and was my beta for this chapter^^  
**

* * *

**Chapter ten: Deir-el-Bahari**

_One and a half weeks later:_

"I wasn't asking, Ardeth. I will come with you. _This _time I won't be left behind!" Lilliana snapped while she continued to saddle her horse. Well _his_ horse, but that insignificant fact hadn't stopped her from claiming the mare for herself. Not to mention, that obviously nobody had dared to stop her from doing as she pleased. She could be rather intimidating, he supposed.

Sighing deeply Ardeth tried to keep his irritation in check. He had spent the last week, trying to stop those insane Europeans from getting their hands on the second disk. Unsuccessfully. The last thing he needed right now, was that stubborn woman accompanying him to Deir el Bahri. How was he supposed to do his job if he was constantly worrying about her safety? He had enough on his plate already and her presence would only distract him.

Wearily he watched her filling her saddlebag, while she muttered unintelligibly in that crass language she seemed to use whenever she was extremely angry. German he presumed.

His thoughts wavered from the woman in front of him towards the foreign Lord who was so determined to destroy the world. How was it that this Lord Weißenburg had such explicit knowledge about the location of the sun disks? It was supposed to be a secret that no one outside his tribe should know. The amulet was older and might have been mentioned in some old scripts or tomb inscription. At least that was the explanation he had come up with. But the disks were the key to Sekhmet resting place and only a select few had ever been told about them.

The great queen Hatshepsut constructed them and made sure they were hidden safely. Other as her predecessors she realised that the Eye of Ra was a threat. One that could easily be used against Egypt, if its power fell into the wrong hands.

So how could this Lord know where to search for the pieces of the disk? A complete outsider!

Once more, his eyes landed on the woman in front of him. Technically she was an outsider herself, but her knowledge of his culture and history had surprised him time and again. Much like Evelyn and Rick had. Fate joined him with the most interesting company whenever secrets of Egypt's past seemed to surface again. Who knows, maybe she was the reincarnation of Hatshepsut herself, he mused and grimaced instantly. She sure enough could act like a queen when she was in the mood. Like now.

"Where to?" Somewhere during his musings she had mounted her horse and was regarding him with a look that left no doubt that she would be following him. With or without his consent (not "acceptable"). Sighing he accepted his fate.

"Deir el-Bahari."

"I guess that makes sense, there is a Hathor chapel inside the Mortuary of Hatshepsut, if I remember correctly." Lilly mused, once again impressing him with her knowledge. It was only then that he realised that he had never told her about the disks.

"Why does it make sense?" He asked suspiciously.

For a moment she looked at him as if he were a little slow in the head. "Well, it was you who told me that my amulet supposedly has the power to control the Eye of Ra. Legend has it that it was Hathor who was turned into Sekhmet. Whatever you are looking for is probably linked to the amulet." That was actually a very acute conclusion.

"I'm not looking for anything. I'm trying to protect it."

"And what exactly is _it_?"

By now they were both waiting for the others to join them and he was debating with himself how much he should tell her, before he finally asked: "Have you ever heard about the sun disk of Hatshepsut?"

By the look on her face he could tell that she hadn't. "I told you about the origin of the amulet; how Ra made it with the help of a mortal." Lilly nodded and he continued. "This man later became Pharaoh and guardian of the feared one. For many centuries the threat of the creature alone sufficed to have Egypt's enemies tremble in fear. Over time its existence fell into oblivion until one Pharaoh rediscovered it and dared to use it against his enemies. The world trembled in fear once again and it soon became clear that Sekhmet was much too dangerous even to the wielder of the amulet. Hatshepsut, daughter of the Pharaoh, convinced her father to lock the creature away once again. During her own reign she put the creature in a secret place which could only be found with the help of a disk that showed its location. She split the disk in three parts and hid them well. The Medjai were oath-bound to protect the disks, not only from Egypt's enemies but from everyone insane enough to awaken the _Dreadful One,_ once again."

Just like they had been oath-bound to prevent Imhotep from rising, Ardeth thought frustrated. Although they had defeated him in the end, they had failed their oath. After all, the mummy had not roamed the earth once but twice. Now it looked like they would fail again. And once again it was him, who would be held responsible.

"So this is what you are trying to protect. The parts of the disk?" He nodded. "Do your people still know where they are hidden?"

"Yes we do, unfortunately it seems that this Lord Weißenburg is well aware of their hiding places as well."

"But how can that be? I assume that the Medjai aren't very forthcoming with information like that."

Ardeth snorted. "No indeed, we are not and to answer your question; we don't know. He was able to get his hands on the disk that was hidden in Karnak, as well as the on in the Dendera Temple Complex." He didn't tell her that he had failed to stop those foreigners form getting their hands on the disk. It was much too embarrassing to admit. "We hope to stop him before he is able to get the third."

Lilly nodded in understanding, though Ardeth wasn't sure if she really understood. He had to admit, for a foreigner she had an astonishing knowledge about his country and its history. But she lacked faith and Ardeth doubted that she really believed the old myths to be true.

He couldn't really hold that against her. She had been raised in a different world with different beliefs. And she hadn't been here when they fought against Imhotep or the Scorpion king and the army of Anubis. Had she seen what he had seen, she would tremble in fear for what lay before them if this Lord Weißenburg released the _Dreadful One_ from her cage.

He prayed to all gods that they wouldn't be too late this time.

* * *

The problem with Egyptian temples was that it was nearly impossible to reach one without being noticed. If Lord Weißenburg and his men had already arrived at Deir-el-Bahari they would be able to see everyone who approached them. Furthermore it was late afternoon, and the bright afternoon sun robbed them of any chance to remain unnoticed.

Lilly had asked Ardeth if it wouldn't be better to wait, until the sun went down, but he insisted that it was too much of a risk to wait. She could understand why he wanted to reach the temple as soon as possible, but she still had a bad feeling about it.

However her worry was promptly pushed aside as she got her first real look at the temple complex before her. Until now she had been too far away and the architecture of the temples fitted so perfectly in its environment that Lilly could only guess its location.

Now she stared in awe at the giant temple complex that spread before her. Built under the reign of different Kings and Queens during the eleventh and eighteenth dynasty, it was an impressive structure of ancient Egyptian architecture. Although her father had told her about it and its fantastic structure she felt a bit overwhelmed now that she was here.

The southern part of Deir-el-Bahari contained the Mortuary temple of Mentuhotep which wasn't as well preserved as the Mortuary of Hatshepsut to its right. The Tutmosis III temple wasn't visible form her standpoint, but she knew it was located behind the other two.

Their destination was the Hatshepsut temple, with the Hathor chapel, as it was the resting place of the third disk. How Wilhelm would know about the location she did not know, but it obviously had something to do with the amulet. After all before Aden snatched it from under his nose, he owed it. How was it possible for a European man to get his hands on a relic so old and dangerous that nobody beside the Medjai should even know it existed?

Pondering over the mystery she followed Ardeth and the eight other Medjai warriors towards their destination. It took them quite some time until they were standing at the entrance and Lilly had trouble keeping her mouth shut. The first ramp, which wasn't much more than a heightened footpath lead them onto the first out of three courts. The second and third ramp, were massive, broad and easily allowed four of them to ride beside each other. Lilly was torn between rushing forward to see more of the beautiful temple and slow down, so she could get a better look at the things around her. All the while she tried to remember what her father had taught her about Deir-el Bahari, which had been one of his favourite temples due to its outstanding architecture.

"_Djeser-djeseru" _she repeated the ancient name of the temple that suddenly popped into her mind and nearly squeaked when she heard Ardeth's voice beside her.

"You know far too much for a foreigner."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Only that there are a lot of people who know far less about their own country than you know about mine."

"Is that a bad thing?" Lilly wasn't sure how to interpret his answer. It wasn't the first time he commented on her knowledge. Usually she took great pleasure at the look of pleasant surprise that would cover his face when she said something he didn't expect an outsider to know. However most of his face was covered by his turban at the moment and from the sound of his voice she somehow had the feeling that he was irritated with her. His eyes scrutinized her intensely before he finally replied.

"No, not at all."

She was just about to reply, when a loud bang interrupted them. Due to the stony precipice around them the echo was enormous and for the life of her, Lilly had no idea which direction it came from. It wasn't before she heard the shouts of the Medjai in front of them that her focus snapped back to them and she realised what it was that she had heard.

A gunshot.

But it was too late. One of the Medjai fell out of his saddle and before she had time to do anything, another bang echoed through the air.

"Get down!" Ardeth yelled. Luckily that thought came to her mind as well and she was already dismounting her horse, which showed little fealty and fled as soon as it was freed from its burden. She couldn't hold that against it. If she could, she would do the same. Unfortunately they were still on the ramp, nearly on the second court, which effectively meant they offered a sitting target for the sniper. Beside the horses, which were all trying to follow her mare and the lines of Medjai before her, there wasn't much she could hide behind. The line of steps in the middle of the ramp was too shallow to offer any protection and they were far too high to jump down the sides.

Screams, yelling and further gunshots had her jumping in fright, and that nearly cost her her life, as a bullet hit a spot only inches away from her head. Though she had witnessed a fair share of brawls, she had never been part of a conflict where fire weapons had been used. Aside from the robbery at the museum, but as no one was killed in that event, it didn't really count. This was completely different and Lilly had no idea how to act. Which was a disturbing novelty for her.

Obviously Ardeth had more experience with such situations and was shouting orders around. He wanted them to crawl upwards onto the next court. Was he insane?

"Lilly, if I give the command you will count to five before you follow the rest of us. Then you will hurry upwards. You must try to reach the pillars on the back side of the court, they will provide you shelter."

She looked at him with big frightened eyes and it took her a moment to realise what he had said. _Count to five. _He was willing to make himself and everybody else a target so she might have a better chance to reach their goal. Fear gripped her and she tried to protest.

"Ardeth, no! You can't..."

"You will do as I say," he interrupted her firmly. "And whatever you do, do not stop! Keep running!"

For a change she decided to do exactly what he asked of her.

* * *

Ardeth knew it had been risky to approach the temple during daylight, but his fear of losing the last disk to his enemy made him act rashly. Two of his men had already lost their lifes and it wasn't too far-fetched to assume a lot more would follow. Himself included, but he would be damned if he allowed any harm come to Lilly. He owed her that much. At least that was what he told himself.

"Go!", he yelled and followed the rest of his men, who hurried upwards on the steps, while they tried to make themselves as small as possible. Even before they reached the end of the ramp another gunshot could be heard, followed quickly by another which confirmed his suspicion about the number of marksmen.

Cursing under his breath, he jumped onto the middle court and started to run. There was no time to look left or right, even though he was tempted to turn around to see if Lilly was behind him. The air was filled with the echoes of the gunfire and the shouts of his men.

The Hathor chapel was located on the far left side of the second court and extended deep into the mountain. Though the men currently shooting at them had obviously taken position on the upper court, it was more than likely that there were more inside the chapel. The sensible thing would have been to run to the right, towards the Anubis chapel as it was most unlikely that any strangers would make a stand there . But while that might have provided them safety it would have put them in a blind alley. So without much of a choice he tried to reach the Punt Colonnade on the left side, which were positioned between the ramp and the chapel. The multitude of pillars would provide a minimum of shelter.

Breathing heavily he reached one of the artfully engraved pillars and positioned himself so that it was between him and the temple. His lungs burned and he leant heavily against the stone behind him while he watched Manuk and Malek reach the Colonnade nearly at the same time. Hurriedly his eyes roamed the middle court for the rest of his people and felt his throat tighten when he saw the dead bodies of three of his fellow Medjai.

"Damn that woman," he cursed suddenly when he noticed Lilly's gleaming red hair much farther from his position than she should have been. Instead of doing what he told her -making a run for it- she was supporting one of his men who was obviously limping from a shot in his leg. Dread formed a tight knot in his stomach, as he watched her crossing the court much slower than she could have without her burden. As much as he admired her irrational need to help everyone, he really wished she would think about her own safety more often. Another gunshot pierced the air and barely missed its target. As they were the last ones standing out there, they wouldn't be so lucky for long.

"Lilly, hurry up!" Ardeth yelled in a mix of anger and fear and even over the distance he could see her glaring at him. He was seriously considering to leave his hiding place and help her carry Ali as two shots fell nearly simultaneous and this time they didn't miss.

Helplessly he watched her fall to the ground.

TBC (...hopefully soon)

* * *

Let me hear what think. Too heavy on the architecture? Not enough plot? Damn cliffy?


End file.
